Isabella Marie Swan Volturi
by Sovoyita
Summary: My name is Isabella Marie Swan Volturi and I have been held captive against my will for the past seven years of my short, insignificant life. This so-called “home” I live in has been nothing short of a prison cell for me ever since I got here.
1. Chapter 1

_Bella POV Age 17 _

_Place: Volturi Castle, Volterra, Italy_

The gray, stone walls seemed to close in around me again, like they had nearly everyday for the past seven years. The air was clean and cold, not that it made me feel any better. My mind longed to leave this castle, to run away and never look back. The sun seemed to call to me, but I knew I would never get to see it again. At least, not when I was human.

Maybe I should begin from the beginning. My name is Isabella Marie Swan Volturi and I have been held captive against my will for the past seven years of my short, insignificant life. This so-called "home" I live in has been nothing short of a prison cell for me ever since I got here. Here, as in Volterra, Italy. My story isn't pleasant, nor is it something that is even remotely believable.

I have been raised by creatures that I have learned to loathe and yet they plan on making me one of them very soon. My suicide attempts have been futile. Every time I try to end my life, to try and save myself from a life as one of the living dead, I am "saved" by those who I hate. Not that they care enough to let me die. Perhaps I should tell you my story.

It all started seven years ago…

* * *

_Flashback_

_My parents, Charlie Swan and Renee Swan, and I were walking down one of the cobblestone streets of Florence, Italy. It was a beautiful day; the clouds were blocking out the sun, keeping the air cool and refreshing as we strolled the streets, browsing the shops and looking for a suitable restaurant for lunch. _

_We stopped for a quick bite to eat, ready to enjoy the delicious produce that Italy had to offer. Today was my tenth birthday, which normally wouldn't have excited me had we not been going to Italy. Charlie and Renee, having been divorced for the past eight or so years, banded together to pay for this trip. _

_Why a ten year-old's birthday is so important is beyond me, but I accepted it. I hated people spending money on me, but at this moment, I couldn't find it in my heart to care. Traveling outside of the United States or Phoenix in general, was something I had always wanted to do. I had never gone further than Albuquerque, so leaving the country was a big deal. _

_After lunch, we walked back to the car, a strange woman walked towards our car. I would have to say that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was quite statuesque, but her height wasn't what caught my attention. Her long mahogany hair drifted beautifully down her back, shaping her deathly pale white face perfectly. _

_Her long legs were exposed by a short black mini skirt and darkened by tights. Her stomach was partially exposed by a short, red vinyl halter top. And her eyes. They were the strangest shade of violet I had ever seen. But there was something wrong; I could feel it. _

_When she spoke, I almost gasped. "Hello, my name is Heidi. I give tours all around Italy. It would be my honor to give you a tour of Volterra. It has many sights, but by far the best is Volterra Castle." Her voice was silky smooth and musical. But it made me uneasy, like I shouldn't even be there. Goosebumps were appearing on my arm, but I couldn't find the strength to move. My parents seemed to be having the same trouble as me. Charlie's eyes were glazed over in what I could only guess was lust while my mother seemed to be openly gaping at the beautiful creature before us. They nodded simultaneously and Heidi gave us instructions to follow her. _

_As soon as we got in the car, I voiced my opinion. _

"_Dad, I don't think we should go. I don't know, it just doesn't feel right." But, of course, like the horribly naïve parents they were, they ignored me. It wasn't until we got to Volterra that they finally started to feel the anxiety themselves. _

_The walls of this city loomed over us, sending a haunting shadow over us. It seemed as if the skies had gotten darker, only making everything seem so much more eerie. I saw the large clock tower from afar. It looked like something out of an old horror story; large and intimidating with its gothic feel. _

_We followed Heidi, who had somehow gathered a large group of people with her. Perhaps she was giving a tour to more than just us. _

_We followed her until we got to what had to be Volterra Castle. It was large and beautiful, very much reminding me of the beauty of the old gothic churches. As the group walked in, I noticed that nearly everyone seemed to be looking around nervously, as if expecting someone to jump out at them. _

_She explained briefly some of the castle's history. Not that I was able to listen to her. Nerves were settling in my stomach, causing me to want to just run away from here. Suddenly, we came to a heavy wooden door. Heidi ushered us all in and we stood awkwardly in the round, circular room in which she led us to. _

_Many people, all wearing long black and blood red cloaks were conversing in whispers. Suddenly, they all silenced and slowly began walking towards us. One of them stepped forward. His skin was just as white as Heidi's but there was a difference. His skin looked paper thin and powdery. It scared me beyond belief. When I finally saw his eyes, I almost flinched back. They were a deep, burgundy red. There was a light smile on his face, but his eyes held a strange emotion in them. Hunger?_

_When he spoke, I knew that things were not good. _

"_Welcome to Volterra Castle. My name is Aro and I do hope that you found the tour pleasant." Everyone in the tour group was staring directly at Aro, as if afraid to look away. But I noticed how everyone in the room seemed to be circling our little group. It was like watching a group of lions circling a herd of gazelle, readying themselves for the hunt. And that's when it hit me. _

_All their eyes were the same blood red. They all had the same hungry look in their eyes as they watched us cower in their presence. And they weren't allowing us to leave our circle. _

_Suddenly, Aro raised and dropped his hand. And that's when the screaming began. The creatures that had surrounded us were now jumping on the group, attacking. I felt frozen in place as I saw one of them jump onto my mother, his teeth on her neck. She was screaming in pain as the creature locked his jaw, and allowed his eyes to flutter shut. Slowly, she stopped screaming and slumped to the floor as he released her body. These cannibalistic people were drinking their blood! _

_I didn't hear Charlie scream as he too was drained of his life. Everyone else around me was dropping like flies as the creatures sucked them dry. Suddenly, I found myself stuck in the gaze of a girl around my age. She too was beautiful and had a horrifyingly evil smile on her face. As she continued to stare at me, her smile turned into a frown, then to a grimace. She shrieked loudly and appeared in front of me before I could blink. She continued to glare at me until she shrieked again. Suddenly, the one called Aro appeared beside her, smiling lightly at her. _

"_Jane, what have we said about playing with your food?" He chastised playfully, but behind that, his tone was curious. _

"_Master," she spoke in a sickly sweet tone, "it's not working! She isn't even flinching!" I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but I knew it couldn't be good. And as curious as I was, I knew I needed to get away. The people from the tour were now all dead, lying in crumpled forms on the floor. The smell of blood was starting to make me nauseous, but I was too scared to even care. The strange, cannibalistic creatures were now all staring curiously at us. A hot, crimson blush crossed my face, but the cause wasn't only embarrassment. Anger also clouded my eyes. _

"_Strange. I wonder..." He made a move to grab my hand. I instantly flinched away from his touch, but he wasn't having that. He made a lightning-fast grab at my hand just as I was pulling away. His hand was as cold as ice and felt smooth and chalky. But I didn't concentrate on that for long. There was a sickening snap, and I felt pain quickly register in my mind. I bit my lip, hard, to stop from crying out loud. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing how badly I was hurting. _

_Aro smiled sympathetically at me and closed his eyes. His face went from an amused expression to one of curiosity. As he opened his eyes, he released my hand, giving me a chance to cradle it to my chest. Tears started bubbling over as the pain and realization came over. My parents were dead. I was most likely going to die soon as well. I kept myself silent. I wouldn't try to run. I had no one else to go to, anyway. _

"_Young one, what is your name?" Aro spoke kindly. I glared at him and spoke through gritted teeth. "Isabella Marie Swan." He didn't think twice about my rude tone and just smiled kindly. _

"_Isabella, I can only assume how confused you are. We are the Volturi. Do you know what we are?" _

_My jaw clenched again and I muttered, "Cannibals." He merely chuckled and shook his head. "No, my dear. We are what you would call vampires." I almost burst into laughter then, but I knew how hysteric I would sound. It all made sense. Their blood red eyes, their diet, the way they moved so gracefully that it seemed like they glided across the floor. _

"_So, are you going to kill me yet?" He looked at me curiously. "Whatever do you mean, Isabella?" _

"_Well, assuming that you were just feeding, I would infer that you would kill me next. I am the last of the group and you did kill my parents, no?" I spoke with a hint of sarcasm. What was taking him so long to understand this? Was allowing me to watch not enough for them? Did they plan on driving me insane with their slow thinking too? _

"_Dear, we aren't going to kill you. You will be staying with us." I openly gaped at him. Was he insane? Was this how he got his sick kicks!? _

"_You see, we vampires occasionally have special...gifts. These gifts empower us to do things that others can't. For example, I can see into another's mind by touching them. But strangely, I cannot read yours." Okay, this was seriously just wrong. What now? Were witches and wizards real too?_

"_I understand that this is a lot to take in. Alec can show you to your room. I will be there soon to discuss the rules of the castle later." _

_I immediately froze. I wasn't going anywhere with these people. They'd have to kill me before I willingly stayed with them. There was no reason for me to stay here when I had no one left. _

"_No. I'm not staying." He frowned slightly and snapped his fingers. A young boy who looked very much like the girl named Jane flashed in front of me and lifted me easily. Suddenly, the walls were flashing by. From what I could see, he was running. As the gray walls flashed by, my stomach flipped. I felt sick. _

_We approached another door, this one holding intricate carvings on it. He swung it open easily and placed me on my feet inside. "This is your room, Isabella. Do not leave. I will know." As quickly as he had brought me hear, he left with a curt nod. _

_I was alone in this stone walled room. There was a large, king-sized bed with velvet red comforter. Along it was a beautiful mahogany shelf and dresser set. The wooden floor held a plush burgundy carpet. Not that I could find it in me to care. I instantly fell to the floor and started to sob. My parents were dead and I was being held captive by vampires. Nice. I have now filled my near death experience quota for the day. My luck truly was that bad. _

_I slowly composed myself, drying my tears. I didn't want them to see me as the weak human I was. After my sobs had quieted to a few hiccups, Aro allowed himself into my new room. _

"_Isabella, I am proud to welcome you to our family. I must say, you will be an interesting addition." Great, I've just been welcomed. _

"_Wait, what do you mean by "addition"?" I spoke surprisingly with a bold tone. He chuckled and then spoke. _

"_I mean that when we change you, you will be a nice addition to the family." He spoke lightly, a bit of happiness seeping through in his tone. _

"_I'm not joining your family. And what do you mean by "changed"? As in changed into a..." He nodded when realization hit me again. They were going to change me into one of them. The blood thirsty creatures that killed my parents were going to make me exactly like them. That couldn't, no, wouldn't happen. _

"_No, no, no, no, NO!! You won't change me. I refuse to be like you. You killed my parents!" He smiled again and placed his hand on my shoulder. I tried to shake it off, but his grip was firm. I still hadn't forgotten about my hand, which was now throbbing painfully._

"_Dear, it seems you have no choice. It is either we change you, or we kill you." He said with finality in his tone. But I wasn't exactly known for my self preservation. _

"_Fine. Kill me. Right now. I refuse to be one of you!" He merely shook his head and frowned. "Isabella, we will not kill you. From now on, you are not allowed to leave the castle. My brother, Marcus, Caius and I will be educating you on our history and basic human studies. Your caretakers will be Jane and Alec. If you try to escape, you will be punished. It's as simple as that." I was shocked. I was given an ultimatum and in the end, I don't get anything. _

_He left without another word and I was alone to wallow in my self-pity._

* * *

After that day, I was never the same. My hate for the Volturi has never wavered and nor do I plan for it to. My attempts at escape have never worked. Their punishment never really mattered to me. It was my fault that my parents were dead and it was all my fault. I was the one who wanted to go to Italy. I could have stopped them from following Heidi, but no. I allowed them to take me. I allowed to follow her into her trap. And now here I was. An orphan alone in a world fool of mythical creatures who planned on turning her into the creatures she loathed. Perhaps I deserved this as punishment for my sins. An eternity of self-hatred and pain should be enough to pay for my sins.

I stood from my bed and picked up the blue velvet cloak they forced me to wear. It was my seventeenth birthday. The seventh anniversary of my parents' death. I wondered if they forgive me. I stumbled to the door just as I heard the light knock. I opened it slowly and looked out to see Jane staring at me.

"Isabella, we will be having visitors tomorrow." I grimaced. More vampires? Whenever the Volturi had visitors, I was forced to either stay in my room or stand alongside them. Normally, the more dangerous, nomadic vampires visited, meaning that I would have to stay hidden.

"You will be standing alongside Aro tomorrow. These are special vampires. Vegetarians." She wrinkled her nose slightly at the thought. I had heard of a the vegetarians. They fed on animal blood. But they were still just an monstrous as all the others. I refused to be anywhere near them.

"Jane, I am not feeling well. I don't know if I should." She knew I was lying, but she didn't care. She hated me for being the only exception to her so-called gift while I hated her for being the monstrous creature she was.

"Very well then, Isabella. I will inform the master. Have you finished your studies? Alec would be disappointed if you haven't?" I nodded curtly and shut the door. As I heard her light footsteps fade away, I sank to the floor. And so yet another day begins.

**Okay my marshmallow peeps!! This is my second real fan fiction. Obviously, its an overused plot, but I plan on making it different. I hope you like it. Oh yeah, and if you haven't already, I would appreciate it if you read my other story Blinding Lights. **

Toodles,

-Torrid a.k.a sovoyita


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters...but I do have a site that I wish for you all to visit. Link is on my profile. **

**BPOV**

After Jane left the room, I locked my door, not that it could stop anybody from coming in anyway. In a place full of vampires, there was no such thing as privacy. Since I was still human, thankfully, every single move I made was heard, meaning that they always had their eyes and ears on me, trained in to make sure that I wasn't attempting to escape, whether it be with or without my life.

The last time I had attempted to escape, it was not so much for my life as it was for another. Her name, from what I could understand, was Sarah. Heidi had gone "fishing" again and had brought in a new group from the Americas. She was only ten years old, wearing a beautiful blue sundress and a little ribbon in her hair. She looked nothing like me, but she was still so similar in so many ways. She had no idea what she was getting into, but she was tugging at her parents' sleeves, her eyes getting wet from tears as her parents refused to listen to her.

I was merely passing the hallway when I saw her. I had been trying to make a run for my room, trying to avoid hearing the screams of the poor humans that were about to lose their lives to the inhuman creatures of the night. Her eyes, the deepest blue I had ever seen, watched me as I walked toward the room, a bit of hope in her eyes when she saw me. Then the screaming began. She flinched when she saw her parents' lives being drained away from them, tears running down their faces. She ran towards me, and I met her half way. The vampires were busy, all so distracted by their prey that they never noticed that I was taking one of their catches to safety. At first, I thought of taking her to my room, in hope that they would let me keep her. I knew that she wasn't a possession, but the vampires often took prisoners for their own personal game. Maybe they would let me raise her and someday she could escape.

But the idea wasn't good enough. She would have been killed instantly. Instead, I ran for the exit, hoping to get there before anyone could notice I was gone. Unfortunately, not all humans despised vampires as much as I did. Gianna, the newest of the Volturi's human secretaries spotted me running and quickly locked the doors before screaming out to Alec and Jane. They appeared by her side in mere seconds, startling little Sarah who was now bawling beside me.

"Isabella, what have we here?" Alec stared at the little girl with an amused smile on his face, something that happened so rarely. Jane was nearly laughing at the sight before her. "It seems Isabella has taken a little snack for herself." I grimaced at the thought of blood and how one day, I was destined to become of _them_. Suddenly, the girl beside me froze completely, looking unable to move at all. She was being controlled.

I glared at Alec, who was staring innocently at me. When I noticed the girl had moved again, I relaxed, but not for long. Less than two seconds later, Sarah was screaming in agony, writhing on the floor as Jane grinned evilly at her.

I screamed for her to stop, hoping that maybe she would show some mercy. Instead, the girl just began to scream harder. Then it was silent except for the sound of Sarah gasping on the floor, tears running down her face. I swooped down to her, tears also burning beneath my eyes, and kept murmuring "I'm sorry". Nothing could make her forget what happened, but I could try and comfort her. It was my fault she had just experienced the worst physical pain imaginable. Suddenly, a cold hand was on my shoulder. I had immediately tried to shake it off, but it just grasped tighter, bruising my skin.

Aro stood behind me, his eyes closed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Isabella, if you hadn't run off, she wouldn't have had to feel any pain. She could have gone on without suffering, but now she has to suffer." I shook my head frantically, hoping that he wouldn't take her away. "Please, Aro! Let me keep her. She can be changed when she comes of age. She will probably have an excellent gift! Please…" He shook his head again and snapped his fingers. Jane flew at Sarah, who didn't even have enough time to scream before Jane's teeth had latched onto her neck. Her lifeless form slumped to the floor when she was dried of all her life's essence.

I didn't even pass out from the smell of the blood like I normally would have. Instead, I just felt numb. Again, I had been the cause of another painful death.

My fault.

My entire fault.

I couldn't speak for weeks. I would just survive, not live, not that I had lived much while trapped in this place. And now here I was. Stuck in my room, avoiding everyone at all costs, just hoping that it would all be over soon. But I knew things would never change. I would be trapped here for my entire life, which would soon have no end. Again, the stone walls closed me in, making me feel light-headed.

--

What could have been hours later, a knock woke me from my sleep. I had somehow ended up on the floor, a couple sheets of paper from the nightstand having stuck to my face. I groaned and stood, knowing that either way, I would have to face them eventually. As soon as my door opened, I wanted to close it. Aro stood outside, his sickly-sweet smile making me feel nauseous. "Yes, Aro?"

He ignored my feeble attempt to sound decent and spoke. "Isabella," he spoke joyfully while I mumbled about my name being Bella, "Jane said you weren't well. Is this true or is this just another attempt to not have to join our guests?" I couldn't help it; I blushed. It was embarrassing how that even though my mind was impenetrable by Aro, he could still read my quite easily. Deciding that I needed to remain strong, I lifted my chin slightly and tried to speak without allowing my voice to waver. "Aro, I do not wish to join you with our guests. In fact, I refuse to do so. I wasn't here for seven years; you can greet guests without me." I tried to hold my head high.

He sighed sadly and just nodded. I stood there, frozen in my spot from shock. Had he just…agreed? "Very well then, Isabella. You may stay in your room for when they arrive, but you will have to face them at some point. They will be staying here for about a week."

"Why should they even stay? They can just sleep in their coffins…" I mumbled quietly while Aro laughed at my sarcasm. He studied me for a moment before speaking again. "Isabella, these are very important guests. I would prefer that you didn't act out. I don't take misbehavior lightly when around guests. They are the one of the largest covens I have ever seen and a couple of them are very gifted." Ah, so Aro wanted to add more to his collection? Excellent, the more the merrier. Not.

I rolled my eyes and spoke, "Very well, Aro. I shall not behave questionably while the coven is here. I will stay in my room, read, and pretend I don't exist." _Maybe I will cease to exist if I pretend long enough_, I added in my thoughts.

He nodded before exiting my doorway, leaving me to continue my studies before Alec came to reprimand me.

--

"Very good, Isabella. You have done very well for this lesson. Though I must say that your interpretations of Lao-Tzu's work are very strange. I understand that you find his works in _Tao Te Ching _inspirational, but I don't understand why."

I sighed in annoyance. We had gone over this before. There wasn't much known about Lao-Tzu and his works, but I did know one thing. He didn't tell you how to live. He didn't tell you what to think. He didn't tell you what to believe in. He just stated common sense that is often ignored. It all made sense, but apparently, it didn't count for vampires.

"Alec, listen to this."

_Fill your bowl to the brim  
and it will spill.  
Keep sharpening your knife  
and it will blunt.  
Chase after money and security  
and your heart will never unclench.  
Care about people's approval  
and you will be their prisoner._

_Do your work, then step back.  
The only path to serenity._

"Can't you see how insightful that is? It all makes sense, but constantly people ignore these things and assume that they have to live a certain way." He stared at me like I had two heads before ending his lesson and leaving the room. Of course he wouldn't understand. Joining the Volturi was a major honor in the vampire world. The guard was well-known and admired by many while despised by others. He was never forced to live a life under the watchful eyes of creatures more powerful than him. I sighed before leaning back on my bed. The red satin bedspread was smooth and soft, but wasn't warm. The cold was unnerving, sending goose bumps up and down my arms continuously. It was getting late. I tried desperately to sleep, but it never came. All that was on my mind was the thought that I would never be able to leave. I was stuck here for eternity. There was no chance of me dying.

People always ask you what you want to be when you grow up. If someone was to ask me, I would say I don't know. When they asked why, I would say that it is because I will never grow up. When they ask why I won't grow up, I'll say because I am going to die before I ever get the chance. When you are younger, you don't go and say that you want to be a vampire when you grow up.

My blue cape was still wrapped around my shoulders, sheltering me from the cold, but doing little. Deciding it was time that I left my room, I attempted to push myself off the bed. I didn't so much push myself off the bed as I really just tripped over myself and somehow landed on the floor with a loud thud. I could hear a couple loud guffaws from outside my room, causing me to blush deeply. Damn these vampires for having the ability to embarrass me. _Oh wait, they are already damned_, I joked to myself. It was a bittersweet joke. I'd be joining them soon, very soon.

Walking through the castle wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Some would ignore me, pretending like I wasn't there, which I was grateful for. Others would leave the room, avoiding me because they disliked me. I was even more grateful. And the rest would acknowledge me, smelling the air deeply and inhaling my scent. Often enough, I would take advantage of this. Sometimes, a few of the vampires hadn't fed in awhile. I would somehow find a way to injure myself, which often led to me being attacked by the creatures I loathed. I wouldn't run, I wouldn't try and fight back. In the words of Peter Pan, death would be an awfully big adventure. And I had had enough of being in this castle, not living. Death was better than this fate.

Unfortunately for me, some vampires had enough control to restrain themselves from my blood and to restrain the others who were attempting to end my life. Jane, so eager to please her "master", once tortured Renata, a vampire on the guard and Aro's personal protector. Unfortunately for Renata, her "shield", as the guard liked to call it, was purely physical, meaning that Jane's power worked well enough.

In the end, leaving my room was torture, but necessary. If I didn't leave at least once a day, they would send someone to come get me; according to them, I needed to eat. Starving myself hadn't worked either. They had force fed me several times before.

Down the corridor were Heidi and Felix, both talking in hushed tones. It's not like whispering to each other would keep the other vampires in the castle from hearing them, so why did they bother? I had no clue, but continued walking while all eyes turned to me as I came forward. Something wasn't right. This hadn't happened in a long while and it was unnerving. But I wouldn't show my discomfort. I just kept walking.

--

After eating a meal that I produced myself (being that the certain mythical creatures I lived with didn't exactly know how to make human food), I returned to my room. I only had one year. One year before I was dropped into the fiery pits of hell to burn alive. One year until I was forced to feed on the very essence of which I survived with now. My humanity would be gone, as would my soul and heart beat. It was a lost war. If my mind hadn't been so different, then Jane would have been able to "play with her food" all those years ago, and I would be dead along with my parents. Sometimes, the power of the mind isn't the best thing.

I lied on my plush yet strangely cold bet and allowed my mind to wander. Tomorrow I would hide away in my room, unable to leave because I was too stubborn to allow myself to leave for my weak, human tendencies. I wouldn't be weak and allow myself to meet these strange "vegetarians". They held no importance to me for they were exactly the same as the blood-lusting creatures I lived with now. They just had a conscience.

With anger and hatred stuck in my heart and mind, I drifted to sleep, letting my nightmares take over again.

**OK people, I need reviews. I want reviews. And I also want you to visit my site. sovoyita (dot) webs (dot) com. That's my site. I have one page that's called 'School, Oh Joy of Joys!' I update it everyday and I think it can speak to different people. Thanks so much for reading!!**

**Sincerely Yours, **

**-Sovoyita \/**


	3. Chapter 3: First Sight, New Thirst

**AN: I know you all want to kill me. I'm a horrible updater, but do realize this. If you kill me, you won't find out how this story ends. Anyway, read it and weep. This chapter had more than 8000 words in it. I made it especially long for all you lovely readers. **

**Also, if at some point you think that this one chapter has miraculously turned this story from rated T to a rated M in a few seemingly insignificant words, I'm sorry. If this story gets changed to M, it'll be much later. I know this chapter may make Bella seem a little out of character, but realize that she really, REALLY, **_**REALLY, **__**REALLY **_**wants to die. And then things will dwindle down from there. **

**Disclaimer: I, Sovoyita, do not own the Twilight saga or its characters. Thank you for rubbing it in.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: First Sight, New Thirst**

**BPOV**

When you are young, you never think about dying. At age five, you think how you are best friends with nearly every kid in your kindergarten class. At age ten, you have a huge crush on that boy in your class and you gush about him to your parents every second you get. When you are fifteen, you try and convince your parents that you an adult and start wearing clip on body jewelry and wash off tattoos. At seventeen, you are learning how to keep yourself grounded, still slacking off on your chores and such, still pretending to be a full-fledged adult, waiting for your parents to realize this as well.

But not me.

At age five, I had already begun learning how to cook and clean, learning how to be a parent to care for my scatter-brained mother. At age ten, I learned that the supernatural existed and that monsters that were supposed to be hiding in young children's closets truly did exist. I saw those monsters prove to me that they existed when they killed my parents. Age fifteen was the start of my many attempts of suicide. At age seventeen, here I sit, waiting in the house of my parent's murderers, waiting to be sentenced to an eternity as one of the blood-lusting eternally damned.

Perhaps this was a sign, a sign telling me that I was _supposed_ to live throughout eternity. If it was a sign, then the gods had a sick sense of humor. I stared at the canopy of my bed, making imaginary patterns in the stone ceiling. The nightmares had been more vivid last night. Memories of my mother's piercing screams made goose bumps appear on my skin; my father's face as he was drained of his life's essence froze my blood.

I remained uninterrupted, lessons with Alec cancelled for the day seeing as he would be with the rest of the guard when the vegetarians visited. I didn't complain. Lessons were tedious, often leading to me getting even more narked with the overly intelligent child-vampire. His calm demeanor meant nothing to me. I knew what he was capable of and exactly how he would use it.

Sighing, I climbed out of my bed and walked over to the large wardrobe I had been provided with. Inside hung ten dresses, all jet black with a ruffled skirt and corset top, and on the floor laid a pair of plain black Mary Janes. Snatching one of the all too familiar dresses from the hanger, I got ready for the day. Really, I couldn't comprehend why they forced me to wear this clothing. If I wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't making my presence known in the castle, there was no point in dressing into a dress I hated. Silently allowing myself to get angry over nothing, I dressed and grabbed an old, leather bound copy of _Pride & Prejudice_. Another thing I didn't have in common with normal human teenagers. While they hardly read at all (though if they did, I'm sure they read fantasy novels), I read the classic Jane Austen novels.

And so began my day.

**EPOV**

The plane landed in Florence International Airport, the turbulence causing a few passengers thoughts to spin around frantically. I ignored the 'voices' until they were nothing but a faraway buzzing in the back of my mind. It didn't make sense for us to be here at all. Aro's request for us to visit Volterra wasn't exactly sensible. Having the leading doctor from a small town disappear for a few days was enough to nearly cause havoc amongst the town gossips. We were already subconsciously feared by the humans. There was no need for us to draw attention to ourselves in such a small town where news spread faster than wildfire during a drought.

"Shall we?" My "father", Carlisle, called me out of my thoughts. I stood and exited the plane, being careful to slow my pace in front of the vast number of humans. It was the end of summer and people were returning to their homes, paying for last minute flights in an attempt to get home early enough to prepare for the upcoming work week. My father ran a hand through his golden blond hair, his matching eyes showing a hint of nervousness. The truth was, we weren't exactly sure of why we were called. This large group of vampire "royalty" had no valid reason to invite us, but with Aro, things seemed to be taken to the extreme. I had never had the misfortune to meet any of the Volturi, but it seemed that today was my lucky day.

--

The drive to Volterra didn't take longer than an hour, mostly because traffic among the more populated cities that we passed didn't enable us to drive as fast as we would have liked. It didn't help that I wasn't pleased with the vehicle options when we had requested a Mercedes. The one we were able to snag seemed to be having problems with the engine, and the annoyance I felt was beginning to be overwhelming.

We arrived in the wall-encased town, the few people walking the square staring at us from afar. Of course they would stare. They were our natural prey and our inhuman beauty drew them to us, making them an easy feast. But I wouldn't give into temptation. I was good at this life that Carlisle had created, allowing us live amongst the humans and at least pretend to be normal. Of course, my guess is that the hunting of wildlife with my teeth was anything but normal. Nor was mind-reading.

Clouds filled the sky, the white puffs of gaseous water covering the rays of sunlight as they tried to shine. Carlisle and I sped up a bit as we ventured through the square, trying to get to the clock tower. We finally got into the shadows of the clock tower, and that's when I heard the thoughts.

_Why must we deal with these outcasts!? They are a disgrace to our race! _The young female voice that 'spoke' these words was annoyed and angry. I had almost laughed. The scent of the other vampires near us was wafting out from a dark alley where they lurked in the shadows, much like a majority of our kind. Three shadows walked out of the alley, striding _too _gracefully, their eyes burgundy rimmed with black and their skin a chalky white color. Their black robes flitted around them as they moved. As soon as they saw us, their thoughts all but disappeared. They blocked by thoughts of guard divisions, tactics, their past killings, anything but personal thoughts of why we were here. Suspicion shot through my mind. Why would they want us here if we had done nothing wrong? We had protected our existence as best we could from the humans. According to the thoughts of those in our tiny little home town, nobody even suspected the well-mannered family made up of five very attractive adoptive children that were still in high school and their two equally attractive adoptive parents, one of which was one of the most well-respected men in town.

"Ah, Felix, Demetri, Jane, it's been too long." Two gleaming sets of white teeth shone in the darkness, the two male vampires, Felix and Demetri both smiling kindly at us…or that's what it seemed like. I could practically see the humor in their eyes as they gazed into our golden eyes, a clear sign that we were different, abnormal amongst the abnormal. The other child-like vampire kept a stoic face, only her thoughts about getting us back into the castle giving away the fact that she didn't want to be there. From what I could see, the two males held much respect for the child, giving her the lead and allowing her to take control over the situation.

"This way, Carlisle, Edward." And we followed her down the alley. We followed them down a hidden path that couldn't be seen at all when it was covered up to look like a man hole. _And into the labyrinth we go_, I thought to myself. It didn't take us long to reach our destination: a blandly decorated lobby that held one front desk and something I didn't expect to see. A human female smiling kindly at us as we walked into the room.

_Hmm, I wonder what these two are here for. Oh well, it's none of my business. Maybe they need more vampires for the guard? What if I'm considered for the position…_

That was unexpected. Her thoughts weren't frightened, nor did she care that these creatures weren't keeping her for what she wanted. She was nothing for a useless tool in their sick game; in the end, she would be nothing but a snack to them. I pitied her for believing that they truly wanted her. Sometimes, our species just lied too well.

The youngest vampire nodded to the human and guided us to an elevator. As the door opened, there was a small male that looked much like her. Both had their dark, nearly black hair combed neatly and both had the same facial features. "Ah, Jane!" The young male pulled her into a light hug where they both kissed each other's cheeks. They were siblings. "Alec." She curtsied, a small smile playing on her features as she hugged her brother. They released each other and proceeded to show us the way.

Both led us into the elevator and down deeper into the eerie castle. The dark décor reminded me just how different we were. They preferred to linger in the dark; to hide away from humans unless they were feeding, and even then, the humans had no idea what fate lied ahead when there were taken. My family wanted to be as normal as possible, to live amongst the humans in peace and to spare their short lives. Yes, there was a price to pay for allowing them to live their lives, but it was well worth it. Every human life was significant, whether the significance was good or bad.

And then there was a corridor leading down to one large, antique looking door. I could hear the thoughts of others behind the threshold, like a whisper as they realized that we were close. We walked through the doorway and our eyes met with numerous pairs of burgundy colored eyes, their faces pale white and seemingly perfect. It made me uncomfortable, knowing that we were so close to so many traditional monsters and that they _enjoyed _their lifestyles, killing humans for both necessity and game.

Almost instantly, I realized who their leaders were. Their minds seemed to stand out, almost as if their thoughts were shouting out above the rest. From the crowd of vampires stepped out three men stepped out. All were graceful, inhumanly beautiful, and burgundy eyes, just like the rest of our species, but there was a difference. Two, one with long, shockingly white hair, Caius, and the other with shoulder length black hair, Aro, of their eyes were a cloudy red, as if a milky veil had covered their irises. The other, a brown haired male, Marcus, seemed indifferent to everything going on around him, his thoughts not giving anything away besides the fact that he truly was bored with what was going on. His monotone 'voice' told me that something wasn't right with this vampire. His stature almost seemed slumped, something that didn't really make much sense amongst our kind.

The portrait of them that resided inside Carlisle home office came to my mind instantly, telling me exactly who they all were. Aro stood in front, Caius and Marcus leading up the rear. The other vampires watched us with curious red eyes, sizing us up. Jane was right; technically, we were like a disgrace to our kind. I would take their shame if it meant that humans wouldn't die because of me. Plenty already had.

"Carlisle, my old friend, it's been too long!" Aro exclaimed, his arms rising from his sides as he and Carlisle met for a friendly hug. Aro's skin brushed against Carlisle's, and I saw inside his head. He saw everything Carlisle had ever seen, which meant I could do the same. He saw the family, the places we had lived, how we lived, everything. His own thoughts were those of surprise and wonder as he saw how successfully our life was amongst the humans. Everything that Carlisle had ever thought and seen he saw and now so had I.

All the thoughts spun through his head in a matter of seconds, and as he released Carlisle, he stared at my father in wonder. "Well Carlisle, I see you have been thriving. Who knew that such a way of life could be so beneficial! I must say, I was a bit skeptical, that maybe you were just a bit biased, but now that I have seen, well, I have never been happier to be wrong." They both chuckled lightly before he took a good look at me. He was curious about my gift, knowing how similar it was to his own but also seeing how different. A kind but curious smile spread across his face as he eyed me.

"You must be Edward. I've seen much about you." Apparently, the courtesy to keep that little bit to himself didn't exist. I nodded and planted a smile on my face. He came forward and held out his hand before looking at me expectantly and saying, "May I?" _As if I have a choice_, I thought sourly before placing my own hand in his. The instant our skin touched, memories, sounds, sights, smells, other people's thoughts, everything was brought forth as he pulled everything he could from my touch. Our minds could analyze things in seconds, but he took his time in this, making sure he didn't miss anything of importance.

Finally, he released my mind from his hold and gave me a rather large smile. "That's amazing! I'm jealous. To be able to read another's thoughts from afar, it would be so much more useful." I shook my head and smiled again –fake, as usual. "Well, your gift is much more thorough. While I can read thoughts from afar, I can only read the person's current thoughts. You can see everything, even things they may have forgotten themselves. I would have to say that your gift is probably far more useful than mine." He nodded, his mind going elsewhere for a moment before he looked at me curiously.

"I've seen your family through your mind, but the person's whose gift astounds me is Alice. Are her visions truly that accurate? Its quite astounding." So that's what he wanted, to have her join the guard for his own use. But when I focused in on his mind, it wasn't only her who he wanted. He wanted Alice, Jasper, and me. And he wasn't even hiding the fact from his thoughts.

"I apologize Aro, but our family is pretty happy the way things are." He smiled knowingly and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, but I knew how disappointed he was. And then his thoughts were replaced by the guard divisions. My eyes narrowed at him. He was blocking me.

"Now, onto business, though I am sorry that this visit wasn't meant for pleasantries. Carlisle, it seems I'm going to need a favor…" Carlisle nodded and gestured for him to continue. "It appears that you have more experience with humans. You are gifted in the medical field, something that I nor any of the vampires here in Volterra are. Well, I have a human that will need some…supervision." Immediately, I thought back to the human secretary. Maybe she was more important than I thought…

"You see, she is rather…gifted. Her abilities will be beneficial to the guard once she has changed, I'm sure of it. But she is rebellious, and I feel that this has come from not being amongst her own race for the past few years. You have more experience in understanding human nature. I know this is a big thing to ask of you, but please consider this. Would you be willing to take this human under your wing for a year or so?" His voice was almost pleading, and he didn't seem to notice that for a moment, he didn't guard his thoughts. I caught a picture of the girl in his mind, flashing almost too quickly before I got a good look.

A pale, heart-shaped face with brown eyes appeared in my mind. So, this was the rebellious girl? It must have been a joke. There was nothing special about her; it was just a normal, human girl that happened to have a gift. And he wanted her to live with us.

Carlisle was pacing a bit, a habit most humans seemed to have when they were thinking. In his mind, he was considering having this human in our home, how maybe Jasper could learn to have more control if he was surrounded by a human at all times. But the other thoughts were of the human, worried that she could get hurt in a home full of vampires. Of course, she had lived with more dangerous creatures through her life, but he still feared what may happen.

"Aro, I'm not sure if that would be a good idea. Perhaps if I meet her, get a view of her thoughts, then maybe I can understand the situation a bit better." I had to offer; hopefully, she was much tamer than he stated. Maybe he just wasn't used to the behavior of humans. Her thoughts should have given him everything he needed when he first touched her. But he shook his head and looked down for a moment.

"Ah, young one," I nearly scoffed at being called young, though compared to him, I was, "that's her gift. Her mind is impenetrable, even by Jane and Alec." Our confused look made him chuckle as he waved his hand for Jane and Alec to come forth. Their dance-like walk brought them to his side and he asked them to make a demonstration. In Jane's mind, she was watching one of the many female vampires in the room. And before our eyes, the female fell to the floor, screaming in agony as Jane smiled with malicious intent. And then, it all stopped. Alec's mind was calmer as he concentrated on the same female. In her mind, she was scared; she couldn't move or feel anything. Her inability to sense the things around her frightened her, as it did me. Vampires' senses were important to us. They helped us hunt and fight. Without the ability to fight back, she was a sitting duck.

"As you can see, Jane's power allows her to create pain in the mind of another. Its all an allusion, but it is just as painful. Alec's power is quite the opposite. The victim is rendered motionless and they cannot move or feel anything. Quite a dangerous combination, don't you think? When I found them, I was amazed. The potential was there, so we changed them. Unfortunately, we could not do the same when we caught Isabella." I caught a clear picture of a young, mahogany-haired girl with two adults beside her. And then the scene changed. The two adults were lying on the ground, covered in blood as Jane glared as the girl, who then had a clear look of determination on her face as she awaited her death.

A strange feeling overwhelmed me. Perhaps it was an ancient emotion, a feeling of protectiveness, the strong protecting the weak. Jane's threatening stare on the small child was almost frightening. To see a small child as the victim of pain that almost matched the change from human to vampire was unthinkable. And these people that were lying crumpled on the floor, they _meant _something to her, something important. And these monsters had taken them from her, leaving her alone in a place inhabited with life-drinking creatures. She was all alone; she was the prey to their predator.

"Her parents were killed and I'm afraid she still holds a grudge against us. We would have thought that she would have forgiven us, or at least understood the situation, but she is much more stubborn than most humans." He chuckled lightly before continuing. "But I must say, she is unique and intelligent. You can't imagine how so. You will just have to meet her. Jane, go prepare her. Tell her who she shall be meeting and when." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and tell her she shan't complain unless she wants to be punished." The gasp caught in my throat. It seemed Carlisle was having the same problem controlling his emotions.

_What is Aro thinking?! She is human. I'm surprised she hasn't been killed yet. Punishment…it's insane! _My thoughts were very nearly the same. The fragile human girl I saw wouldn't have been able to handle this.

From afar, I listened intently to Jane's thoughts. They were of sheer annoyance with the human girl who was refusing to meet us. I could hear her low voice, quiet and calm as she politely refused. The pages of a book were being turned, the light _thump _of the girl's fingers against the book the only other sound. She didn't sound rebellious at all, just a bit stubborn. Aro chuckled and smiled knowingly. "Ah, she must be upset…we told her she could be alone today. Oh well, come then gentlemen. It's time for you to meet Isabella."

He led us away down several corridors until we finally reached a thick cherry wood door. Jane stood outside, a clear look of anger on her face as she clenched her fists. I bit back a laugh. Really, how frustrating could this woman-child be?

"That _thing _you call a human is waiting, whether she likes it or not." Her voice was full of malice as her mind raced, thinking of how much she wished the girl's mind wasn't blocked. I could hear the even breathing of the girl, her heartbeat unwavering. Was she not scared of our kind? It must have come with time. She_ had_ been here for awhile. I took in a deep breath, trying to catch the scent of the human. It was there. Sweet, much like other human blood, but covered with the scent of vampires. I couldn't be definite of exactly how she smelled, so I internally shrugged. I had hunted recently. My thirst was under control.

Aro chuckled at Jane's behavior before his face became thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, Edward, perhaps you should go first. Maybe if she meets someone her own age first, someone who knows humans and their natures, she will be more…willing." I nodded. It made sense, but my knowledge of humans wasn't all pleasant. Yes, I could see into their minds, but that didn't mean that their thoughts were all good-natured. Teenagers were often cruel, vitriol spilling out from their thoughts when they were jealous or angry. Their minds were petty and small, their thoughts stuck on superficial possessions and vanity. My hand grasped the knob and I turned, preparing myself for this human. If she was so used to the presence of our kind, maybe I could have a normal conversation with her. Though I didn't want her in our home, I would have rather had her there than here.

I listened into the thoughts of those around me once more before entering the room. The others had gone off back to the other room, something about a vampire named Heidi coming soon. Carlisle left with one more parting thought, saying that he would be back soon. He wanted to get more out of Aro on the human girl. And with no more distractions, I opened the door and walked in slowly, not wanting to frighten the girl.

The room wasn't anything like what I expected. The stone walls seemed to close in, bringing along with it a claustrophobic feel. There were no windows, so different compared to my own room back home. Here, darkness was something that seemed to emanate from everything. The girl's room was filled with black and blood red, nothing brighter than that. The only lighting came from a single lamp in the corner of the room emitting the yellow colored light. And then I heard the same steady breathing of the girl. She was lying on a black, iron-wrought bed, the black and red satin sheets plush beneath her form.

From where I stood ten feet away, I could see what she looked like and every single thing that Aro's thoughts hadn't given away. Her skin looked too pale, almost the color of my own skin, the black dress she wore making it all the more pale in comparison, translucent. She wore a dark blue cape over the dress, the color making her skin look more like ivory, creamy and soft. It truly was her shade. Her heart shaped face looked down, away from me and not even turning slightly at my appearance. She was beautiful in the sense that her facial features were unique. Her eyes were wide, her upper lip more plump than the lower, her nose straight and small. Aro's thoughts didn't do her justice. And everything was quiet. No thoughts were attacking my mind besides those of the others in the castle. I hadn't noticed that I had been holding my breath. I took in a breath of air.

And all froze.

I was the predator and she was my prey. Nothing in the world would change that. I was a vampire and she had the sweetest blood I had ever had the fortune to smell. My vision was red as I watched her every breath, her lungs filling with air, powering her heart that pumped her disgustingly appetizing blood. There were no thoughts. She was just like the animals I hunted. And I stopped my breath. I wouldn't take her, not now, not ever. I had worked hard for the control that I now took pride in. This girl couldn't make me ruin everything I had worked so hard for.

Without looking up, she spoke. "If you are going to kill me, I hope you can do it soon. Death would be a nice reprieve from everyday life in the castle." She wanted this!? It was taking everything in me to stop from taking her in that moment and here she was, asking me for death. I was practically shaking when she finally looked up at me.

Her wide, brown eyes weren't flat as they had been in Aro's thoughts. No, they were chocolate brown, the deepest pool of color I had ever seen. From where I stood, I could see everything. Her past, her troubles, her hatred, her anger, her anguish, everything that had ever happened to her. She seemed to be taking in my appearance, sizing me up from the bottom up. When she finally caught sight of my eyes, probably black now that the monster inside me was ready to take her and claim her as his own. She didn't flinch when she stared into my hatred filled eyes. Instead, she stood from the bed and looked up through her lashes at me.

"What is it, vampire? Are you thirsty?" Her voice was low and inviting. I couldn't stop myself from nodding at her question. I wanted her so badly. A small smirk played across her features; she knew she was winning. "Why don't you come here and have a taste? No one will know. Does it smell good?" Again, I nodded. My jaw was tensing painfully as the two different sides of my mind fought for dominance.

_Take her. You know you want to, and so does she. She wants you to have her. Why not give her what she wants? _The monster reasoned. I wanted to give in badly, but then I heard the other voice; the more reasonable voice of my father.

_She's innocent. She doesn't mean what she's saying. She's toying with you; don't let her win. _And then the siren called again. "Oh vampire," she said in her low, sultry voice, "you know you want it. Just come take it. It's yours." I watched as she picked up her book, my eyes following her every move. The leather-bound spine was held delicately in her hand, her skin shaping the designs on the cover. She ran her finger along the edge of the pages and I heard the paper slice her skin. She was breathing in through her mouth when she placed the book down on the bed. The edge of the page was stained red with her essence and I desperately wanted to take a deep breath, to drown myself in her scent and her blood.

The temptress stepped closer to me slowly, torturing me as she got close enough for me to feel her warmth rolling off her body in waves. My body tensed as she got within one foot of me. Her heat was inviting, her lips a soft red color, like rose petals. Her cheeks were tinting, taking on the fresh rush of blood that her heart pumped as she leaned forward and inhaled my scent. This succubus was killing me, making my throat burn like fire; had she known that I had been born in the early 1900s? Did she know that a blush in my days was something that was alluring to men? Of course she would try to seduce me with not only her blood, but in other ways as well. To my surprise, she held her finger up to my mouth and wiped the blood onto my lip. If possible, I hated her even more in that moment. My self-control wasn't all too great at the moment and I couldn't stop myself from tasting her on my lips. My tongue peaked out of my mouth and tasted her, too fast for her to even see. But I knew she knew what I did. She had won.

Her blood was the sweetest I had ever tasted. No sweet delicacy could compare to it. And the monster wanted more. He controlled my mind, taking me to a place where all I could see was red and the girl in front of me. I hadn't realized I had moved until it was too late. I grabbed her waist, pulling her to me and then dipped her backwards. My lips were at her throat, my lungs inhaling her sweet scent deeply. And then she surprised me.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, closing her eyes as she waited for her death. And then I was flying through the air. The blur of white that had shot at me had me pinned down to the ground, growling and snarling, trying to rip away. She was mine. No one would have her; I had already staked my claim.

Golden eyes looked into my black ones and I realized who they belonged to. "Carlisle," I gasped out, reality finally setting in. I had been weak. I had given into temptation; I had been giving into the demon, allowing myself to taste the forbidden fruit. "I'm sorry, Carlisle." He didn't release me from the floor. He looked down at me and spoke. "It's alright, Edward. Just hold your breath. Don't move." I did as he said, but that didn't stop the desire. I could taste her scent and blood on my tongue, lingering and burning my throat.

Carlisle stood, pulling me up with him. The AC was now blowing cool air into the room, clearing her scent and letting it escape through the open door. The thought of it being gone calmed me a bit to the point where I was able to take a breath through my mouth. The sweetness of it was still there, but it had lessened in concentration. Aro and Jane were in the room, Aro watching curiously between the girl and I while Jane glared at the temptress. Her thoughts were screaming, saying how desperately she wanted to kill this girl. I almost wanted to kill her as well.

This demon woman in front of me was glaring at Carlisle. And finally, she looked away. Carlisle's thoughts told me that the scent of her saline tears was in the air, lingering around. She turned to Aro, almost losing her footing before righting herself and glaring, a tempting blush crossing her cheeks and neck in anger.

"Why? Why couldn't you give me this? I want nothing else and yet you keep me alive! Just this once, why couldn't you have mercy on me and just allow me death? I was supposed to die with my parents. Why didn't you let me die…" She fell to the floor, her broken sobs racking her chest as she gasped for air. But Jane wouldn't have that. She grabbed the girl's wrist tightly and pulled her up, a resonating crack sounding through the room. Carlisle's eyes fell onto the girl's wrist and his thoughts automatically told me that it was broken. She hadn't even winced. Another tear escaped her eye, but she made no sound telling us that she was in pain. Her heart beat was still calm if not a bit stuttered.

"You will show respect for your master, Isabella. Now, time for your punishment." Jane pulled the girl out of the room, the girl following without a struggle even when she knew what was going to happen. I winced at the thoughts going through Jane's head. She was going to break the bones in her already injured hand, slowly. Carlisle quickly took action. "No, Jane, please wait. Let me treat her for her wrist; it's already broken in several places. Aro, please don't let this happen." Aro looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded at Carlisle. Jane walked back to the room, sulking that she wouldn't have her "fun".

Carlisle was immediately by the girl, trying to grab her wrist. She pulled away, a small hiss escaping her throat as she pulled it to her chest. Carlisle sighed before trying to reason with her.

"Isabella? I just want to take a look at your arm. I promise I won't try to hurt you." The sound of his voice was calm and warm, the same voice he used with his patients at the hospital. She seemed to calm slightly when he spoke and reluctantly gave him her hand. He sat her down on the bed before gently prodding her wrist, careful not to put much pressure. He requested ice and a bandage before placing his hand around her wrist, gently trying to ease her pain with his cool touch. The bruising had already begun and he didn't want it getting worse. She sighed as the pain from her break lessened. I listened in on Aro's thoughts as he concentrated on Isabella's –this was the first time I had ever thought of her name being that –behavior. She had never allowed the vampires to touch her in any way besides one that would hurt her. If they tried to touch her in a way that wouldn't cause her pain, she would cause trouble which would lead to her getting injured.

In his thoughts, he raced over every accident that she had since the day she had arrived. At age ten, so young, she had refused to eat, forcing them to force feed her. In between the age of ten and fifteen were many scattered incidents in which she was often caused many injuries, some small, some large. When she reached fifteen, she had tried to kill herself by drowning herself in her bathtub. From there, the images only got worse. Her purposely bleeding to try and get the other vampires to kill her. Throwing herself in front of visitors that held the traditional diet, throwing herself in front of newborn vampires, everything just got worse.

"Isabella, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to break one of the bones. It was only fractured and it'll heal faster if there's a clean break. Is that alright?" She shook her head and spoke in a quiet whisper. "Please stop calling me Isabella. I prefer Bella; of course, no one cares what I prefer, do they?" Why was her concern on her name? He just told her that he was going to break her bone and she wasn't even responding. But when I caught the expectant look on her face as she stared at Carlisle, I was even more confused.

She sighed and spoke again. "I'm trying to distract myself. If you're going to break the bone, I'd rather not think about it. Just do it quickly, but seriously, don't call me Isabella. I hate that name." Carlisle nodded, still a bit surprised, before talking again.

"Okay, Bella. My name is Carlisle Cullen and I'll bandage your arm so you won't feel a thing after this, okay?" And then he broke her bone, quickly. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. A few more tears escaped her eyes before she wiped them away with her good hand and clearing her throat. He wrapped up her arm in the bandage tightly, hoping that things would begin to set in soon so he could put her in a proper brace. She looked at him, her stare unwavering and opened her mouth. "Thank you, Mr. Cullen." He smiled slightly at her gratitude; her own expression was blank, a perfectly executed look of indifference. Carlisle kneeled beside her and sent me a few thoughts.

_Edward, we have to take her with us. I refuse to leave her here where she can be hurt again. Aro told me everything that has happened since she has been here. It isn't safe for her. _He sighed internally. _She is being changed on her eighteenth birthday. They want her to be able to leave the castle and appear to be normal. At eighteen, she can pass as older; the least we can do is give her some freedom before she is forced into this life. Please understand. _He pleaded and I looked away. This girl, as much as I wished to hate her, I knew I couldn't. She had been a victim of more pain and injustice than most people her age had or should. Watching her parents murdered brutally before her eyes, held against her will in the crypt-like home of creatures of the night, and now this. I nodded curtly and he internally sighed in relief.

"Jane, pack Isabella's bag please. She will need a change of clothes for the next couple days." Jane nodded and walked over to Bella's closet while Bella stared at Aro, her expression blank, but her eyes giving away much more. Her pupils were dilated in surprise. "Aro," she drawled out, "what do you mean I need a change of clothes? Where exactly am I going?" Aro chuckled and smiled at her; she winced slightly at the joyous look on his face. I wondered if it was his face she saw whenever she imagined her parents lying crumpled on the ground, dead and bloody.

"Why, Isabella, you'll be living with Carlisle and his family for the next year. You have often complained about not being released; you will be able to live amongst humans for the next year. But heed my warning: if you try to escape, you will be brought back here." Bella's eyes widened and she nodded quickly. Her adrenaline pulsed as fear set in. Why did she show fear now when earlier she was about to be killed? This girl wasn't a normal human.

Finally, she turned to me. Her chocolate eyes were wide with guilt and she looked down, ashamed. Had my superior hearing not been so great, I wouldn't have heard her speak. "Mr. Cullen –Edward, I'm sorry. No apology will ever be enough to make up for my actions, but I plead that you understand why I did what I did. You have every right now to not forgive me. I look not for forgiveness, only understanding." I nodded slowly. The way she spoke, it wasn't like the teenagers of this age. It was older, wiser than her age gave away. Her face relaxed after my nod and she turned away and looked to Carlisle.

"Mr. Cullen, when do you plan on leaving? I would like to prepare for this." Carlisle was relieved that she wasn't complaining. He knew that it would be easier to travel through airport security without having a girl screaming that she was being kidnapped by vampires. He didn't want to have to forge a doctor's note saying that she needed to be sedated for the flight. "Please, call me Carlisle. We'll be leaving in one hour; the flight will be about twelve hours. Would you like some assistance packing your things?" She shook her head and spoke again in her near-monotone voice. "No thank you, sir. Aro, I'm going to need another bag." Aro nodded and gestured at Jane to get another bag. She cursed internally but kept quiet. Within seconds after leaving the room, she brought another large, black duffel bag and roughly passed it to Bella. Bella nodded and started placing her books inside her bag. All were leather-bound with gold lettering on the spines. She looked at the copy of that she had cut herself on and opened it. Hastily, she tore out the page that had blood on it and tossed it into a wastebasket.

"Will I need anything else besides clothing and something to keep myself distracted for the flight?"

**BPOV**

I had to keep on a poker face for this. I had learned long ago that showing emotions in front of these creatures could be lethal. But the truth was, I wanted to leave this castle. I hadn't been outside in seven years and I was being given the chance to leave, even if it was with the vegetarians. The thing that worried me most was the tension I had created with this family. I truly felt bad about how I had tempted Edward. He, unlike many of the other vampires I had tricked, actually tried to resist. He tried to stop himself. I had to push him to the limit in order to get what I wanted, and even then, he was hesitating. But in my defense, I hadn't put in much effort. The only trouble I truly had was cutting myself. I hadn't foreseen myself having to push him that much; therefore I hadn't expected that I would have to try to keep myself from puking all over the floor when my blood was spilt. The scent of it was still too much for me to handle and nausea, at the time, wasn't going to help in my mission for death.

"Unless you feel you will need something else, then you probably won't. I already reserved tickets at the airport. But I might have to call –"He was cut off by a phone ringing. Out of his jean pocket, Carlisle pulled out a sleek, black cellular phone, something that I had never seen the other vampires carry around. He looked at the caller ID and laughed loudly before answering the phone. "Hello Alice, I see you have seen our guest." A small buzzing could be heard from the speaker and Carlisle smiled lovingly. Who this Alice was, I didn't know, but I didn't feel comfortable. There were more of them?

"Yes Alice, I would appreciate that. Yes, we'll be there by tomorrow. Oh, okay then, thank you. Goodbye, Alice." He flipped the phone shut and looked around. "For those of you who didn't hear," he stared at me for a second longer, "it seems my daughter, Alice, has foreseen you coming tomorrow. She is preparing a room for you. Also, she says it will be best to bring an umbrella with us. When we get there, it'll be raining and if we don't bring one, there is a large chance that Bella will be in dire need for bed rest for an entire week." I stared at him incredulously. What did he mean that this Alice had _foreseen_?!

He chuckled and explained. "Alice is a psychic. She can see things." I nodded and didn't question anymore. So, there was a mind reader, a psychic, and an empathic in their family. I had heard Aro speaking highly of this family but I hadn't expected that I would soon be living with them. And what about their gifts? Had Aro not attempted to take them into his collection yet? But then I decided it didn't matter. I was leaving.

--

My goodbyes to those in the castle hadn't at all been heart-filled. Many of them smiled when they saw me leaving, probably all thanking the demons of their mind for ridding them of their burden. At the time, Heidi had been bringing in another 'tour group'. We exited as quickly as possible, but before we did, I stopped at the start of the dark tunnel and closed my eyes for a moment. I let them adjust to the darkness that my eyelids provided before opening them to see that the tunnel seemed much clearer. Edward had already left ahead, saying he would meet us at the airport. I could tell that it was still hard for him to be around me. The taste of blood had probably not left his system yet. Carlisle stared at me strangely after I opened my eyes and I explained.

"Military medics are often faced with tough conditions where they cannot see. In training, they learn that if they close their eyes before entering a dark, smoke filled warzone, their eyes will adjust to the darkness." He nodded in understanding before trying to pull me along. I asked for a moment and looked back at the entering tour. They had no idea that they weren't really on a tour; they were rabbits waiting for the tigers to come and feed. I placed my hand on the stone wall and whispered, "I'm sorry." And we left. But not before I heard the first scream.

--

The trip to the airport had been filled with me struggling not to jump from my seat and look out the windows. It had been too long since I had been outside. Even on the cloudy day, the lighting of the outdoors had been too bright for my eyes. I saw bright green and yellow spots before my eyes for awhile before my eyesight was normal again. When we reached the airport, I took a good look at all the people in the terminal. They were all so loud and vibrant, so _alive_. I could see the difference between my own sickly-pale skin compared to their own tanned skin. Even tourists had darker skin than my own.

I was just about to keep walking when Carlisle stopped me. "Bella, I know you probably wouldn't do this, but I would appreciate if you would refrain from attempting to call airport security. It wouldn't be pleasant to have to say that you are my mentally unstable patient that I need to sedate." He was a doctor? That would explain his kind nature when he fixed my wrist. So this is what Aro meant when he said Carlisle had control. My respect for him had gone up about five percent. I nodded and didn't speak any further. I knew I didn't want to go back and if that meant not trying to escape, I wouldn't.

After going through security, we boarded our flight. A few moments passed before I started getting curious.

"Carlisle…I hope you don't mind me asking, but where's Edward? Wasn't he supposed to board the plane as well?" Carlisle sighed before answering my question. "It seems he has a bit more…difficulty with your scent than we had anticipated. He took an earlier flight and took your bags. He'll be waiting at home for us." I had heard of the difficulty. Aro had spoken of these things before when he tried to educate me on vampires. _La tua cantante_; I was Edward's singer. To be honest, I was a bit angry. I didn't like anything that associated me with these creatures; the only difference with Carlisle was that I somehow, I felt I could trust him. According to Aro, Carlisle had never tasted human blood –unless he was changing someone, as had been the case with Edward. I was still a bit skeptical, but I would have to deal with it. I was going to be living with vampires. Everything about me was now to be guarded from them.

"Carlisle, where do you live?" He chuckled slightly and answered. "My family and I live in a small town. You have probably never heard of it before; Forks, Washington." The name sounded familiar in my mind; I said it out loud just to get the feel. Then the memories started coming back.

My summer visits to Charlie when I was young, how much I hated the rain, the small, two-story house that I had lived in for the first three or so years of my life….

"Forks…you live in Forks?" And then all went black.

**Yes, I really did cut off at that. In my defense, I made this chapter super long. More than 8000 words, my longest chapter ever. I know I took forever to update but for the past few weeks, I've been stuffing violin music down my throat. And now that I'm done with that, I'll be focusing on other crap, like school work and my writing. But my updating will be more frequent. For those of you who hate me, I'm sorry. I can't control my schedule.**

**Oh, and about that little snippet with the military medic crap; yeah, that's all true. I learned that in AFJROTC last year. I just didn't want Bella tripping around in the dark. Also, realize that the Volturi have been teaching Bella all these things because she will one day be joining the guard. They want her to be knowledgeable.  
**

**Please review, even if you don't think I deserve it. And for those of you who didn't know, I wrote a…love scene called 'Where'd You Go'. It's a…love scene (I hope you all know what I mean). Just check it out. **

**Anyway, I would like to recommend a story. It's ****Theory**** by ****Ness Lupin****. She's amazing. And she has…love scenes in her story. (Don't call them lemons; she hates that). **

**Oh, and I posted the link for Bella's dress. Plus, soon, I'll be posting the link for a playlist for this story. Thanks so much for reading!!! Please REVIEW!!!!!**

**Sincerely Yours, **

**-Laura a.k.a Sovoyita**


	4. Chapter 4: Mixed Emotions

**Small AN here. I actually did my first Carlisle POV ever in this chapter. He has got to be one of my favorite vampires ever. He rocks. Anyway, continue reading. Oh yeah…I didn't proofread this chapter. It's been taking up space in My Documents and I needed to get it to y'all as soon as possible. Enjoy the grammar mistakes!!!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**EPOV**

As soon as I was able to leave the castle, I was off running towards the forests. Unfortunately, the largest animals weren't plentiful. Small Italian deer and a few full grown wild boars were hardly enough to slake my burning thirst, but it would have to do until I could get back to Forks. The bears were just starting to prepare for their hibernation. I grinned at the thought.

But my mind wasn't on the hunt; they were caught in the net that this Isabella Swan had set out for me. What she didn't know is that long after she had forgotten the net, I was still caught up in it and struggling to get free. This woman-child, the temptress in the body of an innocent, she had called me in ways that I had never known she could. Had she known, I was not sure. But what I did know was that I wouldn't have the ability to stay near her. Her history had been horrible, giving me the knowledge to know that she was ready to die; not only that, but she _wished _for it.

But how had she survived this long? The Volturi wouldn't have kept her alive for so long against her own will, would they? But when I saw Aro speak to her, I could see the fear in her eyes. His cloudy red eyes were intimidating, yes, but when she saw mine, she didn't react the same as she had when she saw Aro's. Was it because at the time, she knew that death would come to pass? What about Aro was scaring her more than she the sight of my own pitch black eyes? So many questions that I had no answer to floated constantly through my mind, bumping into one another as if they were trying to find a solution within each other.

Carlisle knew where I was and when he would see me again. I refused to uproot my life for this horribly tempting human girl, no matter how much I wanted her. I continuously had to remind myself that each human life was important, even hers. But I was starting to doubt that. I had no idea what kind of gift she would get when she was changed –if she even would get a gift when she was changed. With my own gift, we automatically knew what kind of gift I had; it explained how I was able to answer every question Carlisle had without him even asking. What if she wasn't beneficial to the Volturi in the end? What if the Aro had been going against fate that day when her parents died? What if she was right; what if she was _destined _to have died with her parents?

The more I thought about it, the more horrible I felt. Here I was, trying to justify my attempt to kill her and yet she had gone through ordeals that I never would have imagined. And her memory had yet to erase the terrors of her past. Human memories may have not been infinite, but that didn't mean that she didn't remember. And from the way she broke in front of Aro, it was obvious that her memory was very clear.

I struggled to comprehend the reasons behind her actions. Aro had been right when he said nothing could penetrate her mind. It was if I had been standing in an empty room until I breathed and even then, if I were to have tried to enter the confines of her mind, there was no doubt that I would have found nothing but a brick wall blocking my entrance. _Great_, I thought humorlessly. _Not only has she entranced me with her scent, but she has kept me curious with her mind._ But then I thought about what else she had done.

She had practically _seduced _me, calling to another side of me that hadn't truly been awakened in probably more than a century. Being one of the eternally damned meant that I was, like all the others, cursed with an inhuman beauty that both frightened and entranced our prey. But as vampires trying to live amongst the humans instead of in the shadows, there was a persistence that many female humans had when it came to the male gender. Unfortunately, I could do nothing but deny the pleas of these mostly-innocent human girls; had they known what close proximity of my mouth near theirs would mean for them, I'm sure they would have run away from me at top speed. But then again, if fear helped them rid their minds of such foul, lust-driven thoughts, then I wouldn't have complained.

But not this girl, no, she was different. I couldn't explain her; she was unreadable by me in more ways than one. Not only did her mind block me off, but her actions went against all human nature, the instinct to survive was not quite there. Instead of running away, trying to escape her death, she met it head on and willed her murderer to suck away her life's essence. I realized what was going on and scolded myself. I was getting interested, letting curiosity run away with my mind and allowing my thoughts to dwell on this human. She was insignificant to me and that was all that mattered.

I didn't drive to the airport, instead running all the way from the small forest to the airport, dodging behind trees and homes so I wouldn't be seen. As soon as I entered the airport, I went straight to the ticket seller and bought a first class ticket back to Washington. Who knew what would happen if I had to be confined in a cramped First Class cabin with that sinuously scented siren.

The unclean thoughts of the passing stewardesses were enough to make a sailor blush and for me, I felt very much uncomfortable with the lustful gazes of these women on me. The 'Mile High Club' wasn't something I would ever think of joining, especially not with these women. I distracted myself as best I could, listening to music on my MP3 player and allowing it to blast into my already sensitive ears, reading the mediocre articles of a magazine, anything to get my mind away from the incessant buzzing of people's thoughts.

**BPOV**

"Bella? Are you alright?" My head spun as someone spoke to me. In my mind, all that I could really think about was the strange nightmare I had just had. I was being taken to live with more vampires, something that I never would have imagined. But the images had been so vivid; to think that these characters were unreal was almost too hard to believe. "Bella?" I groaned, not wanting to get up. If I moved, surely I wouldn't feel any better. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the too bright lighting only to see that the light was blocked by a shadowed face and concerned golden eyes.

My blurry vision cleared and I saw the clear outline of the face from my dreams. Groaning again, I covered my eyes with my hands. "Bella, what's wrong?" Carlisle's smooth and calm voice was beginning to annoy me. Trying to focus in on the darkness behind my lids, I spoke, "You're real." My tone was annoyed and muffled from behind my hand. Carlisle chuckled above me before backing away and allowing the light to shine from above us.

Somehow, I had ended up with my seat inclined backwards with Carlisle hovering around me. But then the reality of the situation hit me, allowing me to fully understand what was going on. Carlisle leaned back in his seat and waited for me to catch up. When I did, I cursed under my breath and looked back at him.

"Carlisle, you live in Forks, as in Forks, Washington, the rainy unfrequented town that has a population of _maybe _six hundred people, correct?" He nodded slowly, his gaze one that obviously questioned y sanity. If only he knew.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, I'm going to hell." His eyes widened at my frantic assessment and he quickly tried to figure out what was wrong. "Bella, what do you mean? Are you alright?" His voice was still calm, but his demeanor was beginning to show signs of nervousness. They way he ran his hand through his silky blond hair, how his eyes quickly began shifting over me to see if I had any bodily injuries, yes, he was definitely nervous.

I took a deep breath and tried to just breathe. If he couldn't understand me, then this would have all been for nothing. "Carlisle, did Aro tell you any of my past from _before _they found out what my gift would be? You know, the past from my life with my…family?" It was still hard to say that. To remember that I hadn't always been alone and at one time, I had had a family to look after and to love with requited feelings, it made it hard to breathe.

He shook his head, his eyes bugging out and his body leaning forward unconsciously as he waited for me to explain. "Carlisle, my whole life hasn't been lived out with vampires. At one point, I hadn't known that vampires or werewolves or shape-shifters existed. And during that time, I lived with my mom and spent my summers with my dad in _Forks_." His eyes became understanding and he nodded sadly, a grim and pitiful smile on his lips. I didn't need his pity, I didn't _want _his pity. I had seven years to understand how horrible this had all been, to understand that everything that had happened was nobody's fault but my own.

He pulled out his slim cellular phone and dialed a number before waiting less than two seconds to get a response. He talked quickly, too fast for me to even guess what he said. Then he asked, "Bella, what is your full name?" I looked at him curiously before actually answering. "Isabella Marie Swan Vol –Isabella Marie Swan." My new last name had been implanted in my head for so long. It seemed that in the end, I was not only lying to the world, but to myself as well. Carlisle continued speaking before saying goodbye and hanging up. He turned to me and smiled kindly. "Well, the entire family already knows that you are coming." I mumbled 'psychic' under my breath and listened as Carlisle chuckled lightly. It was still strange to me; no one laughed so freely or without some sort of sinister aura at the castle.

"Alice," he corrected. I nodded and saved that little bit of knowledge for later. It would be nice to have a name for the monsters.

--

The flight didn't take as long as I expected, but that may have just been because I had fallen asleep. I hadn't even noticed when Carlisle had moved me into a more comfortable position so that I wouldn't have to crane my neck as much. He was much gentler than most vampires I had ever encountered. I knew what most were capable of in strength; I just hadn't assumed that they could be the exact opposite as well. But when we arrived in Seattle, I guess I should have assumed that it would be raining. Yes, the psychic had said that this would happen, but I didn't want her to be correct. Her ability to accurately tell the future meant that at some point, she could possibly see my contingency plans and ruin everything for me. If worst came to worst, I would have to try to kill myself in a more human way rather than taking the opportunity to use the vampire's weakness. He would be an easy target, along with the empath of course. Luckily, Jane enjoyed mumbling darkly about this vegetarian family in which Aro was so fond of. I knew few of their weaknesses, but it wouldn't take me long to figure out more.

The airport was much more crowded than I was used to. The terminal in Italy hadn't been packed, but then again, it was the off season for travel. Here in Seattle, there was the strangely familiar bustle of business men and women as they chatted away on their cell phones while juggling around a cup of gourmet coffee, a briefcase or portfolio, and their black umbrellas that matched their suits. I wanted to run and hide away. It had been seven years since I had been given the company of a human (besides Gianna, whom in my book, did not count as human company; her heart was prepared to stop beating for the vampires, whether she was to be changed or she dinner), and the very thoughts of being in close proximity was both exciting and frightening.

The way they interacted, talking animatedly to each other, hugging their relatives and friends as soon as they saw each other, crying as others left, it was all such a strange experience. Was it my fault that I hadn't had human company in so long?

Yes, it was.

Carlisle opened a black umbrella over our heads as we walked down the street. He led me into a car garage where he paid the female teller and went on to retrieve his car. When I saw it, I realized that it was exactly the same as his rental car, a shiny black car with darkly tinted windows that blocked out any sunlight. I almost laughed at the thought of there even being sun in Forks.

I was glad that Carlisle seemed to be giving me my space and wasn't talking to me. My thoughts were already blocking everything else out so I would have been useless if he decided he wanted to talk to me. This coven I would be joining was supposed to be different. From the manner in which they were spoken of, I could only assume how highly remarked and lowly thought of they were. They lived amongst the humans for one thing; that was enough to allow me to give some leniency. But what of me invading their lives without even a simple warning? I doubted they would take kindly to that. It's obvious they wouldn't like having me around. What was I to them, a measly human that was sent here by the leaders of the vampire world so that she could live a semi-normal year before the end of her life? Please, the normalcy of my life was practically inexistent. How normal could it be to live with vampires?

But somehow in this mix of emotions and thoughts—a horrible combination when put in the same room with a big predicament such as this one –a trust had formed within me, a trust in the vampire sitting next to me. I had allowed myself to believe that he was as kind-hearted as he portrayed himself before the Volturi. And maybe he was; he hadn't yet tried to do me in quite yet, so that was a plus. This angered me. For seven years I had taken to the fact that I hated vampires and now here I was, practically ready to accept him as my friend.

The drive didn't take long. The speeding car was practically lifting the ground, making the trees blur at my sides. Everything was so _green_. Even the dirt alongside the road looked green as it was covered over with grass and moss. It was so familiar yet so foreign to me. And then I saw it. The same sign that was up when I had first visited Forks to see Charlie, my father stood proudly on the street, the wooden sign looking worn but still legible enough to welcome newcomers to the tiny town.

**CARLISLE POV**

The girl sitting beside me was something else. One moment ago, her brows were furrowed and her eyes tight as she allowed her own thoughts to consume her and when she saw that we were entering Forks, a wistful smile graced her face. I tried to give her some time. Though she had been living with the Volturi for so long, I wasn't sure how much human interaction she had had within those seven years. From what Aro had said, Gianna had only been with them for about a year and Bella had kept to herself for the most part.

It was wrong of me, but I was beginning to grow protective of this fragile human girl. She was young and healthy, yet here she was, getting her last year as human to live in "normal" peace before she was sent off to her death. The Volturi were supposed to be the law of our kind, the ones who insured that we weren't revealed to the humans. But here they were, practically torturing this girl whom was a hundred times weaker than themselves. I internally shuddered at the thought of them punishing her in any shape or form. Jane breaking her wrist was bad enough.

I had known Aro for over a century and never had I known him to be this cruel. Leaving a human alive against her will was sick. Though I believed that human lives were meant to be lived out fully, I wouldn't have tried to control this young girl's life; especially after all she had been through. I would attempt to make her as comfortable as possible before her end, even if it meant that, if even for a moment, my own family was uncomfortable. I knew Esme and Alice wouldn't mind. Alice, having seen the vision, had several more visions of herself and the young woman beside me. Though she didn't know when they would occur, she was sure that when they did, she and Bella would be great friends. Esme, the love of my eternity, would accept this young girl as one of her own children and care for her. It was just her nature ever since she had lost her own child all those years ago.

As for the others, I couldn't be sure. Jasper would have a hard time with the bloodlust that was for certain. Emmett would voice his opinions as soon as we would walk in the door and Rosalie…I couldn't be sure. She didn't like change and I could only assume that she would be the first to protest the new company that was thrust upon us.

There was something about this girl…it could have been the fact that she didn't fear us, or rather, she lived to push us to the edge. The thought nearly made me laugh. She was so young, but she seemed to intelligent. Just listening to her speak, it bespoke that she was much older or at least much more mature. Whether it was the Volturi or her own strange nature that had been the reason why she was so dissimilar, I wasn't sure, but I knew that she was special. I could already picture her as one of my daughters, though as soon as the thought entered my mind, I mentally scolded myself. She wasn't a normal girl; she was a daughter of the Volturi and she loathed our kind. Considering her one of my own was a foolish mistake that I couldn't make.

We arrived at the house, me not even realizing it until the car came to a stop. Bella was already opening the door as soon as we stopped and reached into the back of the car to grab her bags. I pulled them out for her before she could take them and guided her to the door. I could hear the light murmur of voices as the others gathered by the door and awaited our entrance. I looked expectantly at Bella, hoping she would be ready to see my family. She just looked forward at the door and didn't say anything, so I proceeded to turn the knob and ushered her in.

**BPOV**

I stiffened when we entered the house. The familiar sweet scent that had filled the castle now filled this mansion like home. But there were significant differences between the two places. For one, the Cullen mansion was much brighter with its glass-window walls that allowed the tinted rays of light to shine on through into the main room onto the white carpet and couches. Secondly, the normally cryptic look of the castle had instilled ideas in my mind that all vampires enjoyed living in dark settings with cobwebs and blood red curtains, gothic cathedral like castles being their home of choice.

There before us stood five vampires, that I could see from the way they stood, unmoving and perfectly calm looking, but already I could see that there was more to them than they let on. In the center stood a short, bouncing female with ink-colored air that was short and spiky, making her look like a modern day pixie. Her dark golden eyes glittered in excitement as she continued her small bouncing movements. So this was Alice; I would remember that for later. To her left stood a tall, curly blond-haired man. He was standing stiffly, his chest unmoving as he held his breath. But the calm aura he gave off told me exactly who he was: the empath.

To the right of the little bouncing one was a large, bulky looking "man" with a large amount of dark, curly hair atop his head. He reminded me much of Felix, but bigger. He was a few inches taller than the blonde haired male. And beside him was what I would describe as the most beautiful "woman" on earth. Long flowing blond hair, beautiful golden eyes lined with thick lashes, perfectly red lips, and an hourglass figure all would have made me self conscious had I not been used to being this insignificant. Living with these beautiful creatures for long periods of time tended to make you immune to their unnatural, entrancing beauty. But then I noticed how her eyes looked so similar to Jane's, full of malice and hate as she stared at me, her eyes darkening slightly and her mouth forming into a visible grimace as she stared at me in disgust. _Go ahead Blondie_, I thought humorlessly, _kill me. Lord knows I've waited long enough._ A smirk flitted across my face before quickly fading into a blank expressionless canvas.

And then I noticed the last female who had been standing behind the others. Her caramel colored hair framed her heart shaped face, reminding me of a modern day fairytale princess. The way her eyes flitted over me, checking me over as if to insure that I wasn't harmed in any way, was unnerving but also so _familiar_. It was so strange, so _human_ of her to look at me that way, as if I mattered. Slowly, as if I was frightened of them, she walked forward and watched me warily. Her hand was held out for me to shake, but I didn't take it. What was she doing?

Noticing that I wasn't responding to her, she put her hand down and a small frown flashed across her face before she hid it thoroughly. "Hello, my name is Esme." Her voice was soft, much unlike those of the Volturi. It bothered me; it made it even harder for me to hate them. I felt so much like the monsters I loathed, hurting those who are completely innocent and did nothing wrong. I was just like them.

All in all, these creatures were beautiful, possibly even more so than those of the Volturi, but they were still monsters. In response to the female Esme's welcome, I nodded slowly. My training was kicking in, the urge to curtsy before her like she was my master. If they managed to change me, I would rip Jane apart for forcing me to curtsy for them. I wasn't their dog, I wasn't their servant…but I _was _human and _weak_.

Esme's smile widened at my response and she moved to her side and started introducing everyone. "Bella, this is Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice." As soon as she said the psychic's name, the little creature made a small bound toward me in which I immediately went on the defense and stepped back calmly. Her smile wavered slightly before widening.

"Hi Bella, I'm Alice. I can tell that we're going to be the best of friends." Her highly musical soprano voice was sweet and tinkling, like a wind chime, but then again, most of their voices were. _Yes, I'm sure you'll be my _best _friend when you accidentally have a taste_, I thought sarcastically. As if I would be her friend. I was nothing more than a brazen human that would annoy her. I looked forward to it.

I nodded again and allowed the others a chance to slowly feel up the atmosphere like I was. The blonde male, Jasper I believe, was staring at me curiously but he wasn't breathing through his nose. His mouth was open slightly as he tasted the air and took in small breaths. The empath was going to be a pain. If he sensed my emotions, I wondered if he would realize when I would make my move. The large, burly one, Emmett, stood there with an arm around the blonde, Rosalie, and looked like he wanted to say something. I almost laughed at the way he smiled dumbly at me…how did vampires have dimples? Seriously, how could stone smile like that? Rosalie still stood there, angry and hateful looking as ever, glaring daggers at me as if she expected that she could make me spontaneously combust by staring at me. This was much more humorous than I had thought. But the thought that made me angry was that though these were all monsters, they had something that they could hold onto, a family of sorts that could comfort each other, that would be there for one another. I felt my eyes water, but I didn't acknowledge the feeling. There was no way that I would cry in front of them. Weakness would do me no good.

**EPOV**

As soon as I got home, I immediately sped into my room and shut the door tightly. Headphones blasted my music out onto me and I had time to really ponder all that was happening. Bella was downstairs being introduced to my family and they were all surprised. Their thoughts all revolved around how such a young, weak looking girl could have caused so much trouble with the Volturi. I knew how: she was a succubus from hell that was out to get them, that's how.

Alice's thoughts were the most vivid as she gave me a full view of what was happening. Bella's face was a blank canvas again, a perfected look that almost seemed vampire-like, stalk still and unwavering. I saw the smirk she gave Rosalie before it disappeared. What was that about?

And then Alice bounded up to her and she took her step back. I worried; had Alice startled her? She didn't look scared; she had that same look on her face. Perhaps caution was what she was exercising at this moment.

_Edward, what if she doesn't like me? My vision said she would but I'm not feeling all that patient at the moment. I want my best friend NOW!!! _Alice's thoughts were childish and impatient, I laughed. Her first visions of this girl were unclear and nearly impossible to decipher, but now that she knew who it was that she would befriend, she couldn't wait. Bella was already her best friend in her mind, but it would take time for Bella herself to accept this fact.

Jasper was positively confused. Her emotions kept on changing from anger to bitterness to humor to guilt and then jealousy and sadness. I couldn't understand it either. He wasn't calming her, he wanted to get a feel of her aura so that he would have more experience in the future. She would be here for a here, one very long year.

**Whoo!!! I finally got it out. Well, I shouldn't be doing this, but I am because I was finished with my class work. Just so y'all know, I normally type about six to ten minutes a day and I've done this for six days. I think 4, 700 words is pretty good for a chapter written in that amount of time….I'm a really really fast typer. **

**Anyway, didya like it!? PLEASE REVIEW! Seriously guys, I've been lacking reviews recently, though I do appreciate those who did review me. Oh yeah, read my one-shot love scene called ****The Last Night**_**. **_**I really really like it. Oh yeah, you can skip over the love scene if you'd like. I have it marked anyway. **

**Keep up the awesomeness!!!**

**Sincerely Yours, **

**Sovoyita a.k.a Laura**


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmares

**A/N**: You know the drill. Read and review. I'll meet you down there.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

**CHAPTER 5: NIGHTMARES**

**BPOV**

The Cullens were very hospitable. After introducing themselves to me, Esme voluntarily showed me to my new room on the third floor, a room directly down the hall from Edward's room. I would avoid him as much as possible. I wasn't heartless; if he was in pain due to my selfish need for death, I would try to alleviate as much of the torture as possible. I'm sure that the feel of venom slithering down his throat felt like pouring coals rather than a highly flammable venom. A brief yet awkward parting with Esme left me standing in the middle of the room, standing directly in the light that presented itself through the west wall window. The entire wall was of a very clear, crystal like glass that has deep blue curtains surrounding it. It was so bright that my eyes were squinting constantly. In the center of the large room was a large, canopied bed with a familiar wrought-iron frame. But the differences were vast. The iron seemed to have been melded in shapes that were far less dark and gothic looking than the bed in Volterra. No, this one's edges seemed to have been rounded off softly, leaving it smoother to the touch whereas in Volterra, pointed and ominous looking edges would have looked right for a horror film. The iron roses that were mended together looked beautiful. The mesh canopy matched the curtains, but the sheets were a mix of lilac, sky blue, white, black and navy blue. The colors were formed into intricate abstract art. The lush goose down pillows looked inviting from the long trip, but I couldn't let my guard down yet. Instead, I walked along the walls, inspecting the different pieces of art that covered the walls. Priceless pieces inhabited the white walls, adding splashes of color here and there. On either sides of the bed were two mahogany nightstands, each with a simple black lamp. At the foot of the bed was a matching mahogany chest with an antique lock and key hanging from the lock-hole. The closet was hidden by a white door. It opened to reveal a too-large walk in closet that already held vast amounts of clothing that surely could not have been mine. Perhaps this was once a room for storage?

So different from the room in the castle, the room held a bright and homey quality that I wasn't used to. I somehow managed to sit on the floor in the corner of the room, allowing the light to hit me in the face. It felt nice to have the faint warmth of the clouded sky on my face. It wasn't sunny, but it was definitely brighter than what I was used to. It wasn't raining –it was September; shouldn't it be raining? –but there was a light dew hanging on the leaves of the large pines outside the window, occasionally dripping beads of water down to the ground. I wondered idly if the vampires could hear every drop and if it sounded like I thought it would. A deep _thump _that vibrated before slowly making a small suction noise as it seeped into the ground. Immediately, I shook those thoughts away. My life had been guarded by vampires, controlled by vampires, _ruled _by vampires. The remainder of my existence would be the same. My eyes slowly began to close as I let exhaustion from today's hectic events take over me and I drifted into the dark abyss, the nightmares awaiting my return.

**EPOV**

Managing to distract myself was proving to be more difficult than I had thought. Bella's scent was beginning to seep out from beneath her door and was invading my room whenever the air conditioner turned on. Every time, I had to clench my jaw tightly, pin my hands by my side, and breathe deeply. I needed to be desensitized if I was going to be living in this house. She wouldn't push me away from my home, my family.

I focused in on her heart, how it would beat her tempting blood through her body, pumping it deeply. I couldn't help but think about how beautiful that sound was. Then, I listened in on her breathing. It was deep and calm, unmeasured. She must be sleeping. I was tempted to go in, to assure myself that she was alright. It would make sense that she would be exhausted. It had been a long day of surprises, injuries, blood spilt. Immediately, I swallowed the venom that had gathered in my mouth. The family, excluding Rosalie and Emmett, had all gone out hunting that night. My hunting trip in Italy and on the way home had been enough to sustain me until I couldn't handle being around the human.

And then I heard it. Small gasps were coming from Bella's room, filling the air with the smell of adrenaline rushing through her blood and her heart beat going faster and faster with fear. I didn't stop to think. I ran into her room to see lying on the floor, her hands clutching and clawing at her arms.

I pinned her arms to her sides and tried to gently shake her awake. If blood was spilled in this house, her blood specifically, this would not end well. I doubted that I had enough self control to handle her scent yet.

"Bella, wake up!" Her mouth opened in a silent scream and her eyes shot open, filled with tears and pupils dilated in fear. And then her screams were there, ringing through my ears too loudly and making me jump away from her. The scent of adrenaline and fear in her blood was so much stronger now that she was fully conscious of it. So much more tempting to the monster within…

Emmett was in the room immediately.

_Edward_, he thought, _what'd you __**do**__? _I shook my head exasperatedly. Too quietly and too fast for Bella to hear, I spoke. "I didn't do anything Emmett. She was having a nightmare and when I came to check on her, well, this happened." He nodded thoughtfully and crept towards the shuddering mass. Bella's screams had stopped but small, pathetic sounding whimpers escaped her as she edged away from us, her legs curled tightly to her chest. She had managed to get herself off the bed and into a corner of the room. She faced away from us like a child in time out and the scent of salt wafted through the air, tears flowing freely down her face.

_Poor kid_, he thought sadly. I nodded slightly. Bella, noticing his attempt to close some of the space between them, shrunk into herself, pulling her legs infinitesimally closer to herself and hiding her face in her knees. Emmett realized this quickly and backed away from her. He was just as confused about what to do as I was. I had never dealt with someone like this and I knew that the only person who could handle this would be Carlisle. I pulled out my phone only to have it ring before I could dial.

"Edward, we're going right now. We'll be back in thirty seconds, tops." Alice hung up before I could say a word but I didn't complain. The next thirty seconds seemed to go on for hours. While half my mind was focusing solely on Bella and her vital functions, the other half was contemplating what she could have possibly dreamt about. Surely she never had nightmares like these before. But when I thought about it, I wondered if this was one of the reasons why they even passed Bella on to us. The Volturi used fear and rewards to control the guard and other vampires. With Bella, neither seemed to hold any lasting effect. From what I had seen, Bella would never want anything that the Volturi would give her and fear had obviously not been enough to force her to bow down to the will of the Volturi leaders.

_Edward_, called Carlisle through his thoughts. _I need you and Emmett to leave the room. She still remembers what happened in Italy. It's best not to bring up memories like that, especially when she just had a nightmare. I may not know what she dreamt, but I do know that people that have been through traumatic experiences often have flashbacks. She doesn't need to be surrounded by strangers right now. When I go in, I can assess the situation. We're right outside. Leave her. _

I backed out of the room, pulling a slightly confused but otherwise willing Emmett with me. Less than a second later, Carlisle was opening the door to Bella's room.

**Carlisle POV**

Seeing Isabella curled up on the floor was a pathetic sight, something I couldn't see from such a strong-willed girl. Seeing the tears running from her fear-glazed eyes truly was a sad sight on her now blood-ridden face. She refused to move from her huddled position in the corner of the room. I edged towards her, careful to make small, cautious steps towards her and holding out my arms as a sign of that I wouldn't harm her. Her eyes were only on me, glazed in horror of what her memories were making her believe would come. Trying to be as quiet as possible with her human hearing, I spoke.

"Bella, it's me, Carlisle." Her wide eyes didn't waver for a moment, merely widening even more as I inched closer. Her mouth opened in a silent cry as she tried to push herself even further into the wall.

_Edward_, I thought clearly, _bring my medical bag. Make sure the syringes and Balatagra are in the bag. _I returned my attention to the cowering child and made my decision. Before she could even move an inch, I ran to her side and pried her fingers away from her skin. When her skin rose with goosebumps, I could hear her swallow and release air as a scream cut through the air, loud and high in my ear. I controlled my cringe and held out my hand for the syringe. Edward had arrived in the room milliseconds after Bella screamed and already had the prepared dose for her. As soon as it touched my hand, I found the slender vein in her arm and injected her. Her screams slowly turned to whimpers as the drug began running through her blood, calming her. And when she finally collapsed into a deep, drug-induced sleep, a wave of relief flowed through me.

_This is going to be more difficult than I thought. _

-**A/N**: Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I decided that a short chapter is better than no chapter. I promise I will update within the next few days. I just need to get my mind together.

For all of you who don't know, I'm writing a story called **HUMAN TRAFFICKING**. It's a really meaningful story and probably one of my favorites to write. It's emotionally draining and I kind of don't want all my hard efforts on it to go to waste. Please read it. Here's a summary:

Taken by men who are going to rent me out to strangers that will take advantage of me…Brilliant. This wasn't bad luck. It was my sentence to hell. Rated M for adult themes including rape and slavery.

**--SAMPLE—**

The water wasn't hot enough. I could see it swirling around me in a pool of pink and I could feel it burning into my skin, cleansing it, but it wasn't enough. The water would never be hot enough. Hot water cleaned better than cold water, everyone knew that.

So why wasn't this water hot enough?

They didn't give me any wire scrubbers or a loofah, but they did give me a washcloth. It wasn't enough to scrub myself clean. I needed something rough to deteriorate the top layer of skin, to make me clean again. It wasn't working.

The soap stung and I knew that the stinging soaps would clean me better than the other, more gentle soaps. So I scrubbed until I was raw and bleeding. And I scrubbed everywhere, everywhere he touched me and slapped me, everywhere he entered me, everywhere he kissed me, everywhere. But his essence, his very presence was etched into my skin, the deeper layers of my skin and refused to wash out. It was like an annoying stain that would never really come out, that would sit there, looking back at you and all you can do is take it. I didn't want to take it.

**--**SAMPLE OVER**—**

Did I _intrigue _you into reading it??? Probably not. But I would really love you all to read it.

Oh yeah, I also posted another one shot called **NOTHING SAYS 'I LOVE YOU' LIKE AN AMBER ALERT. **That title should have gotten you. I hope so!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!


	6. Chapter 6: Fast Forward, Rewind

**A/N**: READ THE CHAPTER AND I'LL EXPLAIN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!!!!!!!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Twilight or its characters.

**CHAPTER 6: REWIND, FAST FORWARD**

**Carlisle POV**

I watched Bella from the corner of her room, my mind focusing intently on her vital signs and her movements and the rain plummeting down outside the window. She looked so peaceful when she slept. The puffiness had faded from beneath her eyes from sleep, but I could hear the slight stutter of her breathing every minutes. She had been asleep for hours, so why was she still hiccupping in her sleep? The answers weren't at all clear.

Edward paced in his room, nearly wearing a hole in his floor. He felt responsible for scaring her, which would have been a reasonable explanation had she not already been traumatized by the Volturi.

I didn't understand these newly found antics. The law of our world was for humans to _never _know what we were or face death. So was this one human girl really worth the breaking of laws by the ones who created these laws? No, she wasn't, but apparently, Aro thought otherwise. This human girl was but a speck of dust compared to the widely ranged and complicated history of our kind and it was ludicrous to waste our energy trying to protect her from herself and the world just so she could become immortal. She didn't want it, so why torture her anymore? I spared her a pitiful glance. From her attitude, she didn't want it.

--

Bella didn't awake until the early hours of dawn, the sun shining brightly into her room, a rare occasion for this small town. The house was quiet except for the few unnecessary breaths from the family, Alice's pencil scratching quietly against a sheet of sketching paper as she designed new clothing for Bella, Esme flipping through a cookbook in search of a recipe Bella would enjoy, Emmett watching a football game and scoffing at the players and their abilities, Rosalie's hair swishing back and forth as she looked at her appearance in the vanity, Edward listening to music through his headphones, and Jasper swiftly typing into the computer in search of new information on Isabella Swan. Jasper _had _always been the more accurate when it came to uncovering old information.

As the young girl stirred, I stepped closer to the bed, sure to make the silent footfalls a bit louder so she would be aware of my presence. As she sat up in the bed, I was surprised to see that she didn't stare at me with frightened eyes as she had earlier on in the night. Instead, she rubbed her eyes with her palms and looked at me with wide yet tired eyes. Her pupils seemed larger and more childlike, as if she was staring at me in wonder. It wouldn't have been a surprising thing…if this had been someone besides Bella.

After a few moments of staring at me, unashamed, she did something surprising to me _and _the seventeen-year-old vampire down the hall.

She smiled a large, wide grin at me.

Her lips were pulled into a dimpled grin and her eyes sparkled happily. She hopped off the bed only to trip over…nothing? She landed on her knees and only giggled at it. She _giggled_?! Nearly everything in the house went silent. The only sounds were the little alto-pitched giggles and Rosalie's hair swishing again as she ignored Bella pointedly. It seemed like the entire family was curious, all whispering silently to each other in hope of some sort of explanation, maybe a sign that they had missed something that I had said or done to this girl to make her laugh.

She stood quickly, blushing and looking down but still grinning. After her face cleared, for the most part, she smiled at me again only to walk up to me and hug me around the waist. I froze, worried. What happened to the violent and quick-tongued girl we had brought home yesterday with her hard gaze and even harder shell? It seemed like every ounce of her anger had diminished and was replaced with felicity. She looked up at me and smiled again. "Mornin' Carlie," she giggled before releasing me. Quite honestly, I was almost a bit afraid. Seeing a seventeen year old teenage girl acting like a seven year old girl wasn't normal, even for someone as old as me. Edward seemed to agree seeing as he quickly yet quietly walked into the room with a cautious look on his face.

**EPOV**

Carlisle's thoughts were at the acme of worry. Bella was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed beneath her, humming a soft and quiet tune that didn't really mix well but was childlike and light. She was twisting her hair around her fingers playfully, braiding it and unbraiding it. The behavior was fit for a young child, maybe six or seven years old. Carlisle seemed to agree.

_Edward, I think we should run a check of her mental stability. Even the tranquilizer couldn't have done this. We can't take her to a doctor. If she says something wrong or too revealing, it could mean trouble, _Carlisle thought logically. I nodded to him and decided that it was best that the others go hunting. It was sunny anyway. We couldn't go into public either way and I thought maybe, if Bella had been a bit more sane, that she would like her privacy. Alice saw my decision and quickly ushered the others out of the house. They left quickly, Rosalie the first out of the house and Esme the last; she worried that Bella wouldn't get her needed nutrition.

Bella was watching me with a curious look on her face, a look that showed no anger or resentment towards me. Her gaze didn't waver when I looked directly back at her, but a dark crimson blush did cover her cheeks, neck and ears thoroughly. But rather than shying away, she scooted closer towards the edge of her bed; much like a child would press their face to the glass of a lion's pen in the zoo. The act unnerved me a bit seeing as normally, people shied away from our kind.

"Good morning Edward. How was your sleep?" She laughed childishly again as if it was some kind of inside joke. Then again, maybe it was.

"Bella," Carlisle called calmly with a small, almost belittling smile on his face. "Do you think you can answer some questions?" Bella seemed to look thoughtful for a moment before nodding carefully, a cautious yet intrigued look on her face. Carlisle smiled a bit friendlier now but it still held a false air. Whatever was wrong was worrying him.

"Okay Bella," he said, sitting down on the floor in front of her bed. She stood carefully as if checking each of her steps before sitting down on the floor with him, leaving me the only one standing. Bella seemed to notice this and patted the floor beside her, looking at me expectantly. I responded by distancing myself about a foot away from her and sitting with my legs crossed on the floor. Her scent, still painfully mouthwatering and deliciously tempting, was only being warded off by my curiosity. The hunt yesterday was enough to ward off whatever unnecessary temptation but it was still there, burning like a branding iron in my throat. I swallowed back the collection venom in my mouth, just barely able to hide the cringe as it stung through.

"Bella, do you remember where you are?" She nodded slowly, eying us with a questioning look. "I'm in Forks." Carlisle nodded. "Do you remember why?"

Bella's face went blank, her eyes wide and glassy again, like they had been last night. Her brows furrowed as a frown set on her face and she shook her head. Her fingers combed through her hair as she thought and a look of frustration flashed her eyes. I already wished to know why she was struggling so much to remember. It had _just_ happened yesterday.

With a final exhale through her nose, Bella looked back at us. "I can't remember. Why can't I remember?" Her tone was almost anxious, as if this recognition had allowed a few of the puzzle pieces to fall into place but had only filled in the borders and left her wondering what the picture was.

Carlisle didn't look at me. _Edward, I'm no psychiatrist but I'm pretty sure I know what this is. PSTD. _I didn't respond or even make a move, but my eyes mentally widened.

"Bella, we're going to make you something for breakfast, okay? Is there anything you'd like?" Bella merely shook her head and turned away from us, her eyes wide and a frown upon her lips. She was mumbling to herself, "Why can't I remember? What's _wrong_ with me?"

Carlisle and I quickly exited the room, not speaking until we had made down to the kitchen as a slow pace. As soon as we reached the countertop, Carlisle turned to me.

"Edward, whatever happened last night pushed her into this. I can only guess that years of stress would do this to her. We contributed to this of course. If we had just left her alone during the night terror, there is a good chance she would be fine. The Volturi didn't say she had these kinds of problems but they also never said they didn't have a human girl under their wing. They must not have interfered. Dear god, this is insane!" Carlisle was now pacing, his hand running through his hair and an exhausted look on his face. This human girl was wearing him out more than the centuries before him had.

"Carlisle, calm down. If this really is post traumatic stress disorder, then there should be a way to pull her out of this illusion. Her mind is protecting her again. The only way we can help her out of this is to ease her into it. Maybe something will trigger her memories." Carlisle's eyes instantly brightened and images of a little shabby looking white house popped into his mind. There was a large oak outside the upstairs window and a plain oak door leading into the home, the trees and weeds overgrown and untended. The downstairs windows were broken and seemed fitting for a horror film. As I was about to ask Carlisle what he was showing me, he interrupted.

"Edward, that's her father's home. Jasper was doing some research and it turns out her father was the police chief of this town seven years ago before his mysterious disappearance…" he trailed off, leaving me to figure out the rest. It wasn't that difficult. I stared at him in a horrifying awe. I had known about her parents but the severity of the situation was all becoming so much clearer now. Carlisle stared on solemnly.

"We'll see what she wants to do next. If we take this too fast, it could push her farther into this little hallucination her mind has put before her. She needs to eat something. No need to have her passing out on us. Esme would be furious." Carlisle went to the never-before-used refrigerator and pulled out eggs and butter. He silently instructed me to make her toast in the new toaster. The smell of eggs cooking behind me while I waited impatiently for the too slow metal box to cook the bread was putrid. But, when Carlisle had finished and plated the food for her, it looked much like the food a human would eat.

--

Bella had only consumed bits and pieces of her toast, her eyes never leaving a single spot on the carpeted floor of her room and her eyes never drifting up to our faces. Every bite she had taken was slow and paced, as if she was savoring the meal without actually tasting it. This made me cautious. What thoughts were coursing through her mind at this moment? Were they questioning the same things we were?

As soon as she finished, Bella seemed to be searching for something. When Carlisle asked if she needed anything, she blushed and mumbled, "Paper and pencil please." Carlisle quickly retrieved the items from the drawer beside her bed and handed it to her. She took it cautiously, her hands careful not to glide across the edge of the pages, as if she knew what would happen if they did. This too made me wonder what was going through her head. Not that I wasn't always wondering.

She lied on the floor, the pad of paper opened neatly in front of her. As soon as the pencil touched the page, she was quickly scrawling lines across the page, different shades of onyx graphite filling in the lines. Quickly, the lines began forming looming figures across the page. And as the page filled out, she turned to the next and began filling it as well. After an hour of her non-stop drawing, she hesitantly placed her pencil back onto the carpet, the once sharp point now dulled into the compacted wood and the eraser untouched. She pulled the five pages she had used out of the pad and lined them up in front of her, her finger tracing the lines. The smell of saline filled the air again.

"I don't remember who they are," she murmured, her voice slightly choked, "but they are important." There were dark cloaked figures standing in the first picture, all looking ominous and dangerous as they seemed to stare directly at you. The second picture was of two people laying side by side, their arms and legs twisted in odd angles and what looked like large wounds on their necks, their eyes the darkest shade on the page. The third and fourth pictures were both similar to the second except for the angles and the addition of the cloaked figures eying the bodies. As for the fifth, there was a small girl being bitten on the neck by another, child-like girl in a dark cloak.

"I'm an idiot." I stared at her in surprise but she took no notice. "I can't even remember who these people are and yet I'm drawing them as they die. Does this make me a sick person?" I shook my head, unable to answer her with anything else. She smiled sadly at me. "I need to remember. You know that and you know where I will find the answers, so I think now would be a good time to show me whatever it is you are going to show me."

--

The drive to the home in Carlisle's thoughts was painful. My throat burned and my hands clenched the steering wheel tightly as the air in the Volvo was contaminated with the sweet scent of freesia and lavender. Carlisle had offered to take her, but I needed to get over this insufferable need for her blood. She didn't seem to notice but I wouldn't have put it past her to keep it to herself. She had been silent the entire ride, never looking away from the road in front of her. She sat awkwardly, her hands twisting in her lap but never revealing any expressions on her face.

The house was exactly like it had been in Carlisle's mind. How could I have not noticed what Jasper was thinking about the entire night? The once white exterior was now off-white, the weeds growing wild over the concrete, cutting through the cracks in the sidewalk.

The thought of bringing this girl to this place just to regain her memories didn't flow well with me. There was the smell of other humans that still lingered in this house, humans that had entered without invitation due to the obvious lack of life. But Bella looked at it in wonder, her eyes glazed over and unseeing. She stepped out of the car without a word and walked on forward. Twigs and leaves cracked beneath her feet but instead of caring, she started running towards the house, her feet tripping over themselves and the cracks in the ground. I called to her, confused but she didn't answer me. Instead, she stuck her hand up into the eave of the porch and found something that I wouldn't have suspected to be there.

A copper key that was perfectly fitting for the door.

Without a word, she turned the lock, the tumblers clicking into place, and swung the door open, its hinges creaking with old age and rust. The smell of mold and wet wood didn't seem to bother her. She didn't make a single sound when she saw the dusty inside, the walls all a dull color of beige and gray. The lights wouldn't turn on. It was to be expected seeing as this house hadn't been the home to anyone for seven years. Bella ran her hand over the old couch that looked like it had seen better days, ignoring the fact that her hand had been covered in cobwebs and dust. She just continued looking over the things in the house. She stopped in the kitchen for awhile longer than the living room.

She eyed the mismatched furniture that surrounded the table and the yellow cabinets with the cracked paint and rotten wood. Without a word, she began exploring the rest of the house, going up the stairs and finding a room that smelled distinctly of her, a faint and innocent smell that would have blinded my senses had I not been surrounded by it mere moments before. The wallpaper was an antique looking baby blue color, a color meant for a child's nursery. There was an old rocking chair in the corner and a mattress-less bed frame in the corner of the room but nothing else. She frowned at the room, but never said anything.

The last room was just past the bathroom near her room. As she placed her hand on the door, the tendons in her hand began turning white from the amount of force she was using to grasp the doorknob. With unnecessary force, she pushed the door open, her feet stumbling on the way. I didn't catch her this time, somehow knowing she wouldn't appreciate it. She didn't need it though. As she stumbled into the room, a sense of familiarity seemed to take over her persona.

There was a more distinct smell in this room, a smell that had a hint of Bella's unique floral scent but seemed much nuttier, like almonds. Bella went up to the bed and grabbed the dusty pillow, dusting it off before holding it to her nose.

I didn't realize that she was sobbing until the smell of her tears made it through the moisture in the air. She was shoving her face into the pillow, gasping for breath and clawing desperately at the cotton.

"I can't believe I killed him! I'm a murderer, I'm worse than them…I…I wish they would have survived! I wish they would have killed me instead." She looked up at me with large, tired eyes that were surrounded by the dark circles that I had noticed earlier, more prominent due to her now puffy eyes and red cheeks. "Why didn't they kill me?" she whispered sadly, more tears escaping her eyes.

For that, I didn't have an answer.

**A/N (READ THIS NOW**: I swear, I never meant to take so long. For those of you who haven't heard, my laptop has a virus. Which means that every time a pop-up makes its way to my screen, I have to shut down and restart. But that isn't the reason why I have taken so long. I have other computers in my house that I can sneak onto (even though I would get in a huge amount of trouble if I get caught). No, the reason is simple: stress.

You'd be surprised to know that I actually have a life that doesn't revolve around fan fiction. That life revolves around school. Sad, huh? Well, I when the new semester started, I didn't expect to have much trouble. Well, I was completely wrong. Pre-calculus is much harder than I bargained for. And what's worse is the result of the stress that I've gotten from my pre-cal class.

You may not know this, but I actually had pretty clear skin, I finally got rid of a psoriasis problem that I had last year (it kind of looks like dandruff on my scalp but it's much harder to deal with), my hair had been being really nice to me, and I had been losing weight. But all of that changed when I started…..pre-cal. –shudders-

A week after the new semester started, I broke out on my chin (it's kind of a weird place to break out), my psoriasis came back, my hair started splitting at the ends and so I had to cut it shorter (which sucks since I've been trying to grow it out) and my weight has been at a stand still. Plus, I caught the flu which made me feel crappy. I still have a cough. Grrrr….

Anyway, so yeah, my life is kind of sucking right now. Plus, I have this weird rash on my neck that starts turning red and itchy every time I get nervous. Which is hard to deal with since I get nervous a lot now. It sucks and I just wish my pre-cal teacher would die. I don't hate the subject. It itself didn't do anything but my teacher is horrible. He doesn't teach me anything and whenever I ask for help, he reads from the book. I mean, honestly, I COULD HAVE DONE THAT!!!! And he owns one of my favorite bargain stores that I like to shop at so whenever I go there, I have to duck behind shelves so he won't see me and talk to me about class. Then my mom will overhear and will start questioning me once we get in the car. I don't need that. Okay, sorry, I'm venting.

Well, I do have good news. For anyone that lives in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), there is this amazing store called _**Simply Elegant **_downtown on Jackson Street in Harlingen. The clothes are all from different countries like Indonesia, China, Cuba and other places like that. The prices are really low and the place itself looks elegant and just amazing. The owner (whose name I just forgot) has asked me to help her choose clothes for the store that will fit girls my age and size. She'll be calling later this week for me to come in and help her out. I'm kind of excited.

Anyway, that is one of the longest A/N's I've ever written. I'll try my best to update soon but I really need to focus on school. Plus, I have to learn how to play my solo by tomorrow. I have a concert on Thursday that my teacher sprung on me last week and I am not prepared.

And please, please, _please_ review! I know you all must hate that I took so long but I said I was sorry and I really mean it. That wasn't just an apology for getting me off the hook. It was completely sincere. Plus, this chapter was based on some real experiences with me and what happens when stress REALLY takes over. It's all totally possible.

-Sovoyita a.k.a Laura

Oh yeah, for those of you who haven't looked at my profile or don't have me on author alert, I'd just like to let you know that I have a few other stories out that you may or may not know about that I would appreciate if you read them. Here they are:

**Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like an Amber Alert (funniest story I've ever written)**

**Human Trafficking (becoming a big hit with the reviewers of rated M stories)**

**Blinding Lights (my first major fan fiction and probably the favorite amongst readers of my stories)**

**Two Minutes to End, Two Minutes to Begin (not my favorite story ever but I still like it)**

And there's more for anyone who cares to know!


	7. Chapter 7: Red Hands

**A/N**: Don't shoot me! -ducks behind random vampire for cover- Okay, I swear, there is an explanation down there after this too short chapter. Just read and try and calm yourself before we meet again.

**Disclaimer**: If I freaking owned Twilight and its characters, I would have probably made sure that Mercedes actually did make the Mercedes Guardian. That would have been awesome. But I don't own Twilight, so Mercedes has decided to ignore me and my pleas. Stupid shiny car makers.

**CHAPTER 7: RED HANDS**

**BPOV**

I didn't look back at the house as we left and I avoided touching anything. My head ached with all the pictures that were invading my mind, hitting the walls of my memory like sharp, jagged rocks. I couldn't even look at my own hands without seeing them stained with blood, coated so thoroughly that I felt as if I could feel the warmth, smell the rust and salt. The imaginary smell was making me nauseous.

Edward was silent the entire ride home and I knew he was avoided conversation. I must have made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. I didn't get angry at him for it. I was a human, one that he had almost killed just a day ago. I was surprised he hadn't refused to show me my old home. I was appreciative of his extraordinary control. He was putting himself through discomfort and I couldn't have thanked him enough. Instead of trying to awkwardly express my gratitude, I kept my mouth shut. There was no need for me to pretend to be comfortable with him being so close to me. The air around me was chilled with his presence.

At the coven's home, I kept to my room, not leaving and not making a disturbance. I wouldn't disturb them like I had last night. I would remain quiet and independent, as if I didn't exist. Just like I had in Volterra, my existence would mean little to the vampires of this coven. They would be inconvenienced as they attempted to blend in with the humans because I would be joining them, a human to compare to the actors. But they would gain praise from the Volturi for taking the burden off their backs for a year. Either way, it meant very little to them whether I lived or not. Even if they did care, they had to know that they couldn't do anything about it. The Volturi were the law-makers, they were the judge, and they were the executioner. I was their property and whatever happened to me was under their control now.

I ran my fingers along the books that had been shelved on the shelf, all of them having smooth hard-cover spines with antique gold or silver lettering. I preferred them to the leather bound books that the Volturi had provided me with. These seemed more normal than the beautifully crafted ones that seemed to be first edition copies. With these, I could at least feel as if I were just a human, not a girl that would be known as privileged by the vampire world. I plucked a book from the shelf, careful to avoid the sharp, unworn edges. I didn't look at the spine for the title. At the moment, I couldn't have cared less. I just wanted a distraction.

--

Carlisle had entered my room cautiously hours after I had begun reading. The words seemed to float off the page and left me confused but otherwise distracted, just as I wished. I hadn't really understood the plot like I would have wanted. I just stared at the words until they tried to sort themselves in an order that fit in my head. I probably could have recited whatever I had "read" perfectly, but nothing would register in my mind.

"Shannon's Way," Carlisle said aloud, acknowledging his own presence to warn me. I understood his reasoning for being so careful. I had had a panic attack, I could remember that. It had been awhile since that had happened; years, in fact.

"Hmm…oh, yes, I suppose it is," I mumbled, slightly embarrassed that I hadn't even known the title of the book I was reading. My mind was still hazy and tired but I didn't want to sleep right now. Keeping my mind and body tired and busy was all I could do at the moment to insure that I wouldn't spend another night cowering away from the pillows. Being found screaming and crying like a child who had just had a nightmare was not in the top ten ways I wanted to start the morning. With a sigh, I turned to Carlisle.

"Good afternoon, Carlisle. How are you?" He smiled kindly and sat on the floor in front of me, his legs crossed beneath him. It seemed like he wanted me to see something in his action but I was too tired to really care.

"I'm fine, Bella. Actually, I came to tell you about school." I gestured for him to continue. Again, he smiled, "You won't be able to attend for a couple days. It's crucial that the others let out a hint that there will be a new arrival. This town is very…close-knit and –," I cut him off.

"It's okay Carlisle. This town can be very nosy. I haven't been here for awhile, but I remember it well." He chuckled. I could tell he was trying to keep it light. He was probably worried about another breakdown. He may have been a medical doctor, but I'm sure he had never had a human have an anxiety attack in his home. The likeliness of the situation wasn't very high.

Carlisle was watching me with an almost criticizing gaze that I almost immediately resented. It reminded me of the Volturi and the guard, all watching me with those luminescent yet dark crimson eyes, waiting for me to do something amazing. As if I was some sort of circus freak, just waiting until it was my time to perform. They wanted to see what was so special about the little human girl with the floral scent. _Nothing_, I wanted to scream at them, but I never could. And when they told me they had burned my parents' bodies, how much I had screamed at them, fury mixing with my anguish, how they stared at me with that pitying gaze that told me that though they didn't care, they still wanted to see me crack under the pressure. How they just wanted to see me, the "special' human, fall to her knees…

"Bella, are you alright?" I snapped out of my thoughts, looking quickly to Carlisle. His worried expression was enough to get me back on track, to think about where I was. This wasn't Italy anymore. I was in Forks, the small little hick town that people never seemed to leave. And so with an internal nod, I tried to get things back on topic and away from me.

"I'm fine, just thinking about something. So, I go to school on….Thursday?" It had taken me a moment to realize what day it was. In Volterra, days didn't seem to pass the way they did in the normally world. Things went by too slowly or too fast. Carlisle nodded slowly, the curious glint never leaving his golden eyes.

"Yes, the preparations are being made. And I believe you will find the clothes in the closet satisfactory. Your dress is a bit…conspicuous." I grimaced at the black lace and silk that flowed around me. It was so dark and attention-drawing that I couldn't even understand why the Volturi had practically forced me into it when I had arrived at the lair. It was disturbing and uncomfortable. I didn't like it.

"Bella, are you sure you're alright? We could postpone your attendance until a later date." Surprised, my head shot up to meet his gaze. I started shaking my head side to side.

"No, no, no, I _want _to go to school." The sooner I could get to school, the sooner I would be with my own kind, the humans. It had been so long. Gianna wasn't even worthy of being called company. For all I knew, she had already started drinking blood and eating raw meat. It was probably her way of showing the vampires that she was dedicated.

Despite my shaky tone, Carlisle hesitantly accepted my short response and stood to leave. Just as he reached the door, he turned back to me.

"Bella, if you ever get a chance to finish that book, I'd like you to know that Dr. Shannon does get a happy ending. It may not be clear at first, but things will end well." And then he left me alone.

--

I remember the years when I couldn't hold a grudge. It was so easy for me to forgive because I just couldn't keep pounding the misdeeds back into my head. It was too hard, too exhausting to keep on reminding myself that what they did shouldn't be forgiven. I had never realized that their mistakes weren't nearly as large as my own. And when your whole life revolves around your blood-soaked skin and endless thoughts of death, you never seem to forget that you are a murderer and everything is your fault. So the only person I could truly hold a grudge against was the one person I truly hated and the one person that vampires seemed adamant on keeping alive: me.

The Volturi were evil and deserved a fate nearly as bad as my own, but I didn't hate them. They were immortals and they honestly believed that they could do whatever they wished. They weren't plebeians of the art of war. Dividing and conquering was their skill and they had taken their skills to the grind, testing it until they were sure that they were invincible. And once they were sure, they ruled all with their confidence and their ability to prove they were the best. They would do anything to keep that status.

I learned many things in my time with the Volturi; many things that no one would ever know. Seven years wandering around a lair left you with a lot of time on your hands. For one, though I admit that this is obvious to nearly anyone, Aro is a collector and his most valuable possessions are those that are unliving and breathing. I just happened to be the exception to this. I was still perfectly alive.

For some reason, he had seen my potential as one of the undead. What had angered me all those years ago was that he wanted me, a normal girl. He couldn't have just killed me along with my parents. I had had to survive because he wished it. But now, what really just made me shake with rage was that he didn't seem to be satisfied with his already large collection. Jane and Alec with their gifts of pain and numbness, Demitri with his mental tracking, Chelsea with her ability to create or break bonds between two beings, Renata with her shielding, Marcus with his ability to read the strength of relationships…

How could he not be satisfied with what he had? Was I just next in line? Maybe Alice as well. She did have a gift that was brilliant and special, not at all similar to any other gift I had ever seen. It was much more brilliant than my own. _To see the future_, Aro had once mused.

Angrily, I huffed and crossed my arms like a pouting child. What made me so special?! I was normal and average and a murderer. Surely that didn't add up to "special". Maybe psychotic, but definitely not special.

With another all too familiar sigh, I laid my head back on the carpeted floor, my mind battling the tired muscles in my eyelids trying to keep them from falling closed and leaving my mind vulnerable with unconsciousness.

--

**A/N**: This chapter is short. Too short for my liking, but I needed to get this one out. Though you all may not know this, I actually have a perfectly shitty reason for not updating on time. And my half-baked reason is only valid for me. Apparently, I lost touch with Twilight. Not so much the storyline. I mean, I'm still in love with the story and the characters, but I lost touch with Ms. Meyer's vampires and vampirism. So, in order to get back in touch with it, I reread Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn (twice for Breaking Dawn and New Moon). I was losing what it was like to be a vampire. The pain it is for Edward to be around Bella, how vulnerable he is, all that jazz. Plus, I wanted to grasp Bella's character better. She and her character are so important in this story that I needed to really get into character. But, in order to make up for not updating fast enough, you will notice that you should be getting TWO IMSV updates in your inbox. If you didn't, then your computer must really hate you because I am posting both chapters at once. Hazzah!

**So, be a doll and review for me.** You can post your hate mail as well, but just so you all know, I really do feel horrible. I'm ashamed. And I'd like to thank everyone who was being so understanding during my last update. Again, I apologize for being a crappy updater. Life happens and just takes over sometimes. I'll try to be better.


	8. Chapter 8: Pride, Shame and Heartbeats

**A/N**: See! I told you there was more than one IMSV update in your inbox! Anyway, this chapter, I'm focusing on Carlisle and Edward. They too are important. You'll realize that through a majority of the story, I will keep to three POVs: Carlisle, Edward, and Bella. I really don't want to dwell on the other characters at this time. I mean, I love them, but for this, I think if you all see through the eyes of Bella, Edward, and Carlisle, you'll get a better understanding of how deep they all really are. Plus, I just like listening to Carlisle and Edward talk in my head. It's a very interesting experience. Lots of convo in this chapter. Hope it doesn't bore you.

**Disclaimer**: Oh crap, is it time for another creative disclaimer? Uh…uh….uhhhhh….ugh, forget it. I don't own Twilight. My brain died after typing for six hours straight anyway.

**CHAPTER 8: PRIDE, SHAME AND HEARTBEATS**

**CPOV**

Throughout the house, uneven heartbeats stuttered along loudly, a pulsing beat in my ear. The family was out hunting again without Edward, Jasper having taken leave almost immediately after they had arrived back from their first hunt. The sound of the girl's heartbeat was too much for him, especially the feel of her fear in the air. She was having a nightmare.

Listening to her, I had heard her trying to keep awake. She would growl under her breath every time it would even out, her heart beat slowing slightly before she remembered that she had to stay awake and it spiked again. She had done that for about twenty-nine minutes before failing to reawaken.

I tried to be optimistic, to be glad that she was here and underneath my roof, the safest place in the world for this Volturi child. In the home of vampires that were able to protect her better than her last caretakers could. It meant my peace of mind that she wasn't back in Italy. That's all I could ask for at the moment.

"I don't see how that idea can bring you peace of mind. It's hardly logical," Edward stated calmly as he entered my open study, his fist knocking the wood of the door once as he entered. I smiled at him, a sad and unsure smile. That was something I wasn't to, being so unsure.

"It doesn't give me peace of mind. But I have to think that it will once I realize she is better off here than she is anywhere else. Here, at least no one would look to think of her here, excluding the Volturi. Our family is easily ignored by the locals. They will not expect anything from Bella except that maybe she is a new installment to our already large family." I rubbed my temples, wishing that the space I did have in my head wouldn't fill up so easily with the countless thoughts of the girl.

"Edward, I'm not entirely sure, but I think I am getting a headache. Is that even possible?" I asked hypothetically, watching the dust motes pass through the room, trying and failing to focus on something else.

"Not for the normal ones, it's not," he smirked into his reply and I laughed, trying and easily failing to rid myself of this new pain in my head. It wasn't physical at all, but it was unpleasant. I didn't like it.

"You'll get used to it. I had to once that buzzing started in my head. And then after Rosalie and Emmett got married…." I shook my head and held my hand up for him to stop. I didn't want to remember what that decade was like. He laughed lightly, his head tilted toward the hallway; listening.

"I worry about her," he murmured, looking down. "What they've done to her, what she's seen. It's not natural for her to have taken it so well. She should have gone into a catatonic state by now or something. What happened this morning shouldn't have surprised me, but it did," he shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I'm surprised she's even still alive. You've heard of those people Carlisle. Literally dying from sorrow and broken hearts. They wither away to nothing, even if they are kept eating and breathing, they just die away. That's hasn't happened to her. What could possibly keep her alive after all this time…" he trailed off, his eyes still closed. His shoulders slumped slightly and he looked tired, as tired as I felt.

"I like to believe that everything happens for a reason, but for the first time, I'm not so sure. She's as much of a mystery to me as she is to you," I replied. Medical mysteries I could handle. I could handle living with a special family like the one I had help create. But this girl made me want to smash my own head against my desk until I got the answers I needed.

"The desk is an antique, Dad. I don't think Esme will appreciate its destruction," he stated factually before smiling again. It was strange, seeing him smile so much. Plus, he normally didn't call me "Dad". Of course, I knew he thought of me as his father, he just never outwardly expressed it as much.

"I don't know why I'm feeling so…upbeat. I suppose, having one person inside the house that I can't understand, though it's frustrating, it's…_different_." He shook his head. "I hate thinking of her as a puzzle to be solved. It reminds me too much of Aro. He wanted to see how her gift…after the transformation, would be. Since they've lost Eleazar, they aren't very sure of what she could be. He looks at her like a prize that he has won. Carlisle," he said softly, "I understand that you have a certain respect for Aro and the Volturi, but I can't really understand now how you can still think of them that way. It's monstrous of them to have kept her alive for so long. Against her will no less. There's got to be something against their rules that would rule out keeping her alive. Surely," I shook my head.

"No, they are going to change her. As long as she is part of our world, she is safe from any rule they have created. Aro knows that she fears him. He plans on keeping her alive for eternity, or at least as long as he is in power, which, as you well know, will probably be for eternity. That's what she fears the most, I believe. Living for eternity with those that she loathes the most," the thought made me nearly cringe. It reminded me of my loneliness before I had changed Edward. It had been a dreary time, though I had already met with the Volturi and lived with them for a time. Having a companion, a son, was what I had longed for and Edward was perfect. But the thought of changing someone who would never want this life, who truly would be _cursed _to survive like those she hated, it was painful.

Those whom I had changed were all on the verge of death when I had bitten them. There was no hope for them. Bella was healthy and full of fire, despite it being repeatedly extinguished by the Volturi. It made me think, what if she had never crossed lines with the Volturi? Would she have lived a long, full life, found a husband, had children and grandchildren? It was a life that I knew we all wished we could have had, especially Rosalie. None of us ever had the chance to have a family, a full human family where we were all happy and had the option of living or dying, of not being ruled by this painful thirst that took years to gain enough control over.

"Alice went to the bank today," Edward said, taking my mind away from the darker thoughts I hadn't had in so long. "Both Mrs. Gerandy and Mrs. Stanley were in. We won't have to worry about spreading around gossip about our new family member. They both overheard her speaking rather loudly as she "subtly" mentioned her new sister," he rolled his eyes. "She practically yelled it out. She's more excited than she's let on. She's excited about having a human in the house. She says she's never had much interaction with them." He sighed and leaned against the wall casually, looking at me curiously.

"I don't think I've actually ever seen you looking so exhausted, truly. It almost makes you look human." I pointedly stared at him and then smiled easily.

"I suppose, now that Bella is around, we will all be looking more human. I suppose stress does that us. I myself don't remember those memories of my human life. I'm just glad I can work so much. Dr. Gerandy isn't getting any younger, you know. He may be retiring in a few years. For now, I'll just be taking as many night shifts as possible." I sighed and looked at my watch. I had looked at it approximately thirty-seven times today. Before today, I hadn't looked at it in weeks. There was never a need before now.

"Bella doesn't have papers or any form of identification. Has Jasper already spoken with Mr. Jenks?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, as soon as he found out about Bella's arrival, he went to get the paperwork. I really do think J.J. is going to have a stroke one of these days. The fear Jasper has been shooting at him is becoming a bit much. I'm quite surprised he hasn't snapped yet," he said quietly. A faint rustling of fabric from the other room echoed in my ears. Edward's head tilted again, listening in closely. Bella's heart spiked before falling back into a calming beat. He sighed again. "Jasper will be picking up the papers on Wednesday morning. We can sign her in then. Unfortunately, we can't use her real name. I hadn't realized before that people still remember Charlie Swan. They thought he had gone off and eloped with his ex-wife. He still has friends here," he trailed off, his voice taking on a thoughtful and yet aggressive edge. "Jasper wasn't sure what else to call her. She now officially has a new name, illegal, but official. Isabella Marie Swan _Volturi_," he growled under his breath, "is now our new family member. Jasper decided that allowing her to keep her last name was fine but it would only be an initial. As for the name "Volturi"…that wasn't his choice. Aro has been wanting Bella to be marked under his ownership ever since he discovered her. He had requested that we give her this name. And whatever Aro wants, Aro gets."

It was almost silly how we had both become so protective over this little human. I wondered if, had the others seen what we had, they would have been just as protective. Esme was already attached, thinking of ways to make Bella more at home and more relaxed. Their awkward introductions hadn't swayed her in the least. Though she was hurt, she was still hoping that she could find a way to make Bella happy. I smiled at how caring she was, so loving of those who she knew needed her. It would seem that my love for her would never stop growing.

Edward smiled from the corner of my eye, nodding in agreement with me. As for Alice, I could see why she was so excited. Someone new and human for her to play with, a new sister. Had she already had a vision of a growing friendship? Whatever Alice _had _seen, I was sure that she would make it work in her favor. As for Emmett, I was sure that he would find something about her to amuse him. He always had found humans humorous at one point or another. Rosalie, as far as I could tell, would not be happy about the new, temporary installment to our family. Her jealousy was solely based on the fact that the Volturi found this one girl so important. Therefore, if she was important to the Volturi, she knew how important she would be to us. Vanity was ruling her emotions for Bella. Jasper would be wary of the entire situation. Bella's blood was tempting most to Edward, that I could tell, but it still had a very pleasant scent to me. For Jasper, though he was not likely to focus on the scent as much as its pulsing, wet beat—

Edward groaned and covered his mouth with his hand, his face pained. His jaw and fists were clenched tight and he looked about ready to bite his knuckle, his eyes so dark that I almost couldn't see pupil within the black. He glared at me over his hand-covered mouth.

"I apologize, Edward. I wasn't being very considerate of your comfort. I shan't think about it anymore."

He grumbled through his teeth, "It's too late now." He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, clenching them together, and then relaxed his taut muscles. Slowly, he took in a deep breath through his nose. His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed dangerously to the open door before he focused in on my face. After a moment, he able to relax enough that he could put his arms back at his sides. His fists were still clenched, but it was better now. I could barely see the white tendons straining in his loose fist. His eyes were still dark, but they had lightened to an amber color, the gold just starting to shine through. Pride ran through me. He was getting stronger; he could handle it.

His eyes rolled again. "Yes, it's truly an accomplishment that I haven't killed the human girl upstairs," he muttered sarcastically. "It's disappointing. More than a century of being around humans and I can't even control myself around this _one girl_. I don't know if I can handle even being in such close proximity with her for too long."

"Nonetheless, I'm proud that you haven't lost yourself. After all, it has been years since…" I didn't finish my sentence. Neither of us wanted to think of that time.

He frowned and then grimaced beneath that frown. His eyes closed and his pinched the bridge of his nose again.

"You don't understand, Carlisle. I did lose control of myself. When we were in Volterra, while I was with Bella…I tasted human blood. I couldn't control myself. I could feel it, on my lips, the heat…." He shook his head ashamedly. "I gave into my desires and nearly killed her. I _would _have killed her had you not stopped me. I still want to kill her, every second, it's like something is pulling me to go to her room and just take it. It's as if my mind is reasoning with me, telling me that I'll be giving her death, exactly what she wants. It's telling me it's okay. I am always just so close…"

I stood and walked around my desk to my son, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"We can't always control what rules us, Edward. Desiring something doesn't make you weak. Letting it completely rule you doesn't mean anything. It just means that you are stronger now that you've pushed through it. No matter what, I will think of you as my son, whether you lose yourself or not. Either way, I will not think any less of you."

He nodded, his eyes looking wary of my words. His head once again tilted toward the hall, listening to the still calm heartbeat.

"I'm afraid that that sound will now be the most significant sound in my life for quite some time," he murmured quietly before leaving me alone in my office.

--

**A/N**: Okay, moderately long chapter there. There was lots of dialogue in this one, that's why it's long. I hope I allowed you all to get into Carlisle's and Edward's head. I think this is one of my favorite chapters. I like that I could finally get into Carlisle's mind a bit and toy around with his thoughts. You all may not realize it, but I never really get a chance to look into Carlisle in my other stories. Everyone else gets a pretty big point of focus, but never Carlisle or Esme. Maybe later I'll do Esme's POV. Anyway, I'll try and update again soon. In May, I have AP exams, so things may get a bit…bleh. I have been slacking on homework this Easter break, so I hope you're all happy that my grades are slowly slipping down. Plus, I've been slacking on my creative writing and my mom is pissed off. She has banned me from writing my fan fiction stories, that's why I was so cut off for awhile. I was horrified when I found out I couldn't update. She said that if I had time to write and yet I didn't have time to eat (hence the fact that I have anemia), then I should spend more time readjusting my priorities. Which is correct, but I don't really care. Anemia isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'm losing weight regularly, I can actually sleep since I'm lacking the proper nutrients to power my insomnia, and I'm pale (I look _way _better when I'm pale anyway).

Okay, this AN is getting too long. Please review, please! Also, I'd like to point something out. Some authors have really long chapters according to the little scroll bar on the right side of the page. Well, if you look at their paragraphs, most of the time, you'll realize that there are two lines before a space and then another two lines. My paragraphs are mostly longer than that. I would appreciate it if I didn't get any heat for having too short chapters. This chapter has a lot of substance after all and it has quite a bit of important information that will come into play later in the story.

Again, REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9: Encounters

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer owns all.

**CHAPTER 9: ENCOUNTERS**

My days with the coven were long and boring despite the new atmosphere that surrounded me. It felt as if I had no real place in the house outside my room that I could call my own. The books in which I had tried to drown myself in weren't holding their shapes up in my imagination, were not vivid enough anymore that I could completely immerse myself within the writings of these brilliant authors.

As the days passed, I felt as if I had become nothing but a hermit that the homeowners had taken pity on. I was brought food and clothes and I had plenty of entertainment but I just didn't take to it like I suppose Aro had thought I would. That was all well and good though. Attachment to this place wasn't really what I needed now. Right now, I needed a plan.

I wouldn't find a way to end my life here, not when these creatures of the darkness were my keepers. If I were to be fatally injured in the time that I spent with them, they would be blamed and I could not release such a powerful force of terror upon this family. Because that's what this coven was: a family.

I wouldn't have expected it at first. They all seemed to go about their own business: the psychic sketching out designs with a carbon pencil; the empathic one reading over old scripts that looked worn and delicate; Blondie flipping through a fashion magazine and sneering at the models that she surely surpassed in beauty; the large one watching football and offering up fights with his brothers; Edward listening to music up in his room (he seemed to take an interest in music from what I could see); the kind looking one, Esme, looking over blue prints for large houses (she had offered to show me more when I had passed her by in the hall but I declined); and Carlisle, always taking extra shifts in the hospital. But when they had all gathered together in the brightly lit sitting room, sitting comfortably upon their various white seats and taking comfort in one another's company, I could see it. I didn't have to be there to witness it to know that they had what I wished I could have.

I shook my head. The seat beneath me was warm and comfortable even when the weather outside the tinted glass was not. A cold fog had covered Forks earlier in the morning and would most likely stay until midday. It seemed like a bad omen to me but I couldn't help that. A part of me was excited that I was getting to go to school. After all, it had been years since I had actually entered a real classroom with a human teacher just waiting to teach me something new. But there was that strong sense of foreboding that led me to believe that the vampires were hiding something. They had already registered me at Forks High School, had gotten my schedule and refused to let me see it, and had avoided giving me my new school ID (which I never even took a picture for).

I silently glowered at the trees we passed. The car was nearly empty save for Edward, Alice and I. The others had taken one of the other cars, a red convertible from what I had seen. It was easy to see that I had caused this invisible fission between the family and was there for at fault. Alice (I still had trouble saying her name out loud; it made her seem too human for my tastes) had reassured me that Jasper had only gone in the other car because of the scent but I worried that he may have been upset with her for taking my presence so lightly. He was her mate, after all, and though their bond couldn't have possibly been broken by one little spat doesn't mean that I didn't care. I was just very careful not to show it.

In my days hidden within my room, I had come to accept that the coven was my new family –in the loosest sense of the word– and that no matter what I would have to look to them for help and support. What they would be supporting I had no idea at the moment but I would try to look at them as something other than creatures that were made to kill.

"Bella?"

"Hm," I responded, watching as the school came into view. I had never seen it before, even when I spent my summers with Charlie.

"Before we go in, I'd like to warn you," said Edward, his voice wary. "You might not like what people will be addressing you by," and with that, he exited his parked car leaving Alice to pull me out. Whatever he was saying, it didn't make sense. Not only was my attention focused on the separate school buildings like that looked like large brick blocks set across each other, but I couldn't comprehend why the school looked like that. Weren't schools supposed to look, I don't know, bigger? Scarier? Intimidating?

"So," Alice began as she handed me my backpack (leather, not at all what I expected). "Your first day of school; exciting, isn't it?" I didn't respond. She was talking happily, a peppy soprano voice that I was jealous of and yet I despised. So perfect and bubbly.

In every one of my classes I was accompanied by a vampire guard that I didn't want. They had told me and had therefore felt no need to give me my schedule. It left me curious why they wouldn't give me a hint of freedom. They could have at least pretended to leave me alone and just spied on me from afar to make sure I wouldn't try to make some sort of reckless escape.

Alice escorted me to an empty classroom with various grey desks with green seats. The fluorescents were bright and brought a glare upon the desk that I sat at. I pulled a notebook and pencil from my pack and watched as circles appeared on my paper, the thin lines swirling into one another. Students had passed us by just as we entered the classroom; staring blatantly at me and making me blush in embarrassment. I tried not to stare back. Did they find me strange looking? Did I not look like the human I once was or was this all just because I was a new face at this school?

As students entered the classroom, their curious stares grew warmer on my down-turned head. I didn't look up until I realized there was a shadow on my desk and someone was staring at me. One of the braver students had gathered up the courage to come near me and the vampire whom I was sure they were secretly wary of. The boy had greasy looking hair and a bad complexion, his thin lips spread into a smile. I blushed at how he was staring at me.

"Hi, I'm Eric Yorkie," he thrust his hand out for me to shake. "You must be Isabella Volturi, the foreign exchange student!" I had already taken his hand and shaken it but my grip had immediately slacked at what he had called me. Slowly, I turned my head to Alice only to see that she was giving me a pleading look that said "Please just go with it". I grimaced but turned back to the boy and tried to smile. His grin faltered for a moment before he got it back up again.

"I prefer Bella," I said quietly, trying to keep my anger at bay. Eric didn't seem to notice. His smile widened. He leaned down towards me. I tried not to let him see me lean back a bit. I felt awkward with him so close.

Almost conspiratorially, he spoke quietly with wide eyes and a matching grin, "Well, I'm pretty much the ears and eyes of this school so if you need anything at all, a guide, a lunch buddy, a shoulder to cry on, I'm the guy. I'm also head of the school newspaper and babe, you'll be the front page!" His forwardness shocked me and I found myself shaking my head back and forth, unable to say much.

"No, no, no, no articles or front page or pictures; I'd rather not be publicly announced," I stuttered. "I'm more of a "suffering in silence" kind of girl, you know?" My throat felt dry. Were humans always like this or was it just this person? Because if it was the prior, I was going to be a mess by the end of the day.

His face fell for a moment before turning understanding. "I get it babe, don't worry about it. But will you need a guide or anything? I could give you a tour..." I shook my head.

"My...sister, she'll show me around, won't you Alice?" I turned to her and gave her a look that better have said that she better say yes or she'd get it.

She nodded, "Sorry Eric. I promised Bella I'd show her around a bit." Eric eyes had become transfixed on Alice's polite smile, his eyes glazing over.

"Uh, yeah, sure, that's alright..." he walked away, his steps a bit uneasy. As soon as he was out of ear shot and I knew he was busy being interrogated by the other students, I turned to Alice and glared again.

"_Volturi_?" I hissed. She just stared back with a calm expression and nodded.

"We didn't have much of a choice. Aro requested it," she said, as if explained everything. I was still boiling from the inside out.

"You couldn't have lied? You couldn't have done _anything_, anything _else_?" She shook her head and looked forward, mumbling, "I knew he should have told her," under her breath.

"Calm down; you need to act normal. We're going to have more visitors. Oh Angela," she called brightly, "come meet my new sister, Bella!" A couple of desks away, a tall girl with long, light brown hair looked up from her desk with a confused and startled expression on her face. At Alice's beaming face, she shyly walked up and began talking to me, exchanging pleasantries that were mostly Alice's attempt to distract me from my anger.

The teacher came in moments later, calling out to the hall, "Don't let me see you around this school around, young man, or I'll be calling the cops!" He was shaking his head when he faced the class, muttering in an irritated fashion. When he saw me, he paused to stare at me with a look of comprehension on his face. He called the class to order from behind his desk and began the lesson, only having introduced me briefly while everyone stared at me in undisguised wonder.

--

The day pretty much went on the same way with me seething about the new addition to my name. Saying I didn't like it was an understatement. I despised it with a passion. I would have rather had a completely new pseudonym than have had what I got. Being named as a Volturi meant that I was now officially their property. And what was worse was that people had begun asking me questions all about Italy (seeing as someone had let it slip that I was from Italy) and had kept me busy with questions all about my old life, schools in Italy, why I was adopted by the Cullens. The public story that I had to tell them had already been worked out by the family earlier on in the week. Apparently, I was Carlisle's goddaughter and had been adopted because my parents had died in a house fire. People tried to show sympathy for me but I could see their excitement and awe shining through their eyes as they skipped over topics that may have been hurtful and asked me to demonstrate the Italian language for them. My time in the spotlight was too long and I tried to avoid it as much as possible by being as near to my body guards as possible in hope that the proximity would be too uncomfortable from the overly curious humans.

Rosalie or Blondie grudgingly led me to the cafeteria, striding ahead of me with an obvious air of superiority. I was embarrassed to say that the only reason I followed her was because I was completely scared of the humans. It was ridiculous really seeing as I too was human but they were just all over the place, invading my personal bubble and asking questions to which I answered falsely. I felt like I was being cornered. So I sat at the table with the Cullens where trays were already waiting along with Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and Alice. I felt safer around them, which was saying a lot. I didn't feel like I had to lie about anything. And I noticed that people were visibly avoiding this table in the corner, all keeping at least several feet away at the other round tables. It didn't bother me.

"I don't think you should hang out with Jessica," Edward said quietly, his eyes intent on a roll that he was tearing apart with his fingers.

"Who?" I hadn't gotten a chance to memorize faces and names. It was so overwhelming to be around them all and have them all talking at once.

"Curly hair, blue eyes, talks like a maniac," said Emmett, looking at the food on his tray as if wondering whether or not he should begin tearing it apart as well. "She's a major gossip. Not really "friend" material."

"Doesn't matter," I muttered. "I'm not looking for friends; just observing." I looked at the food on my tray and began ripping apart the crust of my slice of pizza.

"You know you can eat that, don't you? You don't have to pretend or anything," Alice stated, her delicate eyebrow raised. I just shrugged and continued breaking apart the pale bread. "Not hungry."

--

After Biology with Edward and Gym with Emmett, I was to be escorted to the car, my little slip of paper already turned in by Emmett who had already decided that his favorite class was now gym. After seeing me trip many times while just climbing up the steps of the bleachers to watch (Coach Clapp had decided I didn't need to play until the next week when he could get me a set of clothes to change into) he had figured that if that's what happened when I wasn't even on the court then I would surely be just as entertaining while attempting to play a sport. I tried not to let that bother me.

I waited outside the front office for Emmett to pass in the slip. I was looking at a nearby bulletin board, a neon yellow flyer brightly showing:

**SAVE THE OLYMPIC WOLF**

Underneath was a silhouette of a wolf howling at an unseen moon. But I didn't have time to really read anymore. Something too-warm covered my mouth and began dragging me away, a large, muscular arm wrapping around my waist. Whoever grabbed me cradled me in his arms securely and began running too fast to be humanly possible, the parking lot flying past us as he dove into the trees that surrounded the school. I couldn't see the face of my captor when he looked down at me, the little light that passed through the canopy of trees shadowing his features.

"I'm going to move my hand," his rough voice said. "If you scream, I'm putting it back, alright?" I nodded jerkily, his hand making it difficult. It was swelteringly hot. He removed his hand from my face and I gasped. The blurring trees that towered above us were making me sick. I couldn't breathe properly. He didn't stop for awhile.

When he finally began slowing, I tried to even out my breath but I still felt dizzy. His still fast walk continued. He came to a secluded area and came to a stop. He set me down on my feet where I swayed dizzily and bent over, trying to rid the feeling of my stomach entering my throat.

"Are you alright?" the man asked, his voice only slightly concerned. I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to keep the walls of my vision from blurring any further.

"Jeez Sam, you didn't have to make her sick," said another rough voice. My eyes shot up from the ground to see a tall boy with russet colored skin and cropped black hair coming towards us. I shakily stood up straight and backed away. There were three boys surrounding me, the one who had taken me, Sam, who looked to be the oldest; the boy who had just spoken and was now nearing me warily, his nose wrinkled, and another boy with russet colored skin and cropped hair, who was shaking tremendously, his fists clenched tightly and his jaw tight as he glared at me with dark eyes.

"Calm down, Paul," Sam said calmly to the trembling one. Almost immediately, Paul began relaxing though his fists and jaw were still tightly clenched.

"Now," Sam, whom I had already inferred was the leader of this group, turned to me, "who are you and what are you doing with the bloodsuckers?"

**A/N: **I can honestly say I wanted to continue this chapter but I've got tons of stuff to do. This point will give me a good, solid beginning for the next chapter.

And I'd like to thank all of you who actually **listened **to me and PMed me rather than reviewed my **AN**. Those of you who did review...eh, you probably won't be able to review this chapter. I got a couple of really nice comments from people who PMed me. Danielle012, that was very sweet of you! Thanks for being so supportive. I **told **you all I would update as soon as I could! Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter. I gotta go finish up the next chapter of Blinding Lights and Human Trafficking. Feel free to check those out as well.

Oh yeah, I'd like to mention a little something really quick. I've gotten a couple reviews about grammatical or spelling errors. If its something huge like a sentence that doesn't make sense at all because I'm butchering the English language then tell me immediately so I can go back and fix it. Otherwise, please don't make a huge deal about a word that is missing a letter because a button on my keyboard got stuck or something. Most likely I won't fix it until the story is already over and done with. I dislike getting chapter alerts for chapters I've already read. It gets my hopes up and fills my inbox.

Well....REVIEW!!!


	10. Take a Look Into the Light

Looks like I'm still alive, huh? Well, yeah, I kind of wish I wasn't right now.

Yeah, I know. I'm a crap author and I don't really deserve to be able to have all you guys around as my readers. Trust me, I get that. I feel like shit as it is. No need to rub it in quite this minute. But I will explain myself for my own petty reasons. Couple of weeks ago –sometime after school ended– my computer wouldn't let me use the word processor because of a virus. Then I had to reformat my computer. Well, I didn't have a back up for writing so things went downhill. But I got back my word processor a couple of weeks ago.

So why the hell haven't I updated, right?

This is one of those it's-not-you-its-me moments. I just lost focus and my thought process went to hell. I kind of got lost in my own head. Ideas were still running but I just couldn't sit down and put them on the screen. Even my mom got mad at me. I've been distant and just hiding away in my room and not really talking or being expressive. And after giving me a good talking to, I sort of saw something. Like a weird epiphany that came way too late.

Normalcy has never been my forte. Trying to be normal is hard for me because I can tell that I'm not normal. If I was, I would care more for peer pressure and adulthood and hormones. But my entire family isn't normal. We know that. We're weird and we like ourselves that way. But I was getting away from that because of something I realized in myself and I just couldn't figure out what was bothering me so much. All that time meditating was wasted because I was pondering things I already knew and over-analyzing things that had already been pushed to the max. That's one of my problems. I overanalyze things.

Anyway, the point is, I'm back. And I'll be doing my damndest to make sure I stick to some sort of writing schedule. I understand if you all want to just quit reading. I'm probably such a bore now. Feel free to curse me out or whatever. If I couldn't even figure out what my thoughts were, I deserve that. As much as I would have liked to lie to you all and said I had been in a coma, been killed in a hit-and-run ice cream truck accident, or had been pushed into a drug–induced vegetative state, I can't do it. You all have been the best and I swear that I'll earn back your respect. I've begun writing again and the chapters are well on their way.

Indebted to you all,

Laura a.k.a Sovoyita

P.S. Voodoo dolls are in season. My picture is on my account. Feel free to jab pointy needles into my joints to speed up the writing process. Just watch the hands. I need those.

And thanks to people who have emailing me like crazy to get me to keep writing. I appreciate the support and hope you all haven't given up on me.


	11. Chapter 10: Learning More Than Necessary

**A/N: **Since I obviously don't have a Beta and I didn't have a lot of time, I didn't proofread this chapter as well as I would have liked. I think mostly everything is fine but if there is something out of place, sorry. Still, I hope you all enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight or the characters of the Twilight universe. They are all owned by Stephanie Meyer.

_Last time on Isabella Marie Swan Volturi…_

_I shakily stood up straight and backed away. There were three boys surrounding me, the one who had taken me, Sam, who looked to be the oldest; the boy who had just spoken and was now nearing me warily, his nose wrinkled, and another boy with russet colored skin and cropped hair, who was shaking tremendously, his fists clenched tightly and his jaw tight as he glared at me with dark eyes._

"_Calm down, Paul," Sam said calmly to the trembling one. Almost immediately, Paul began relaxing though his fists and jaw were still tightly clenched._

"_Now," Sam, whom I had already inferred was the leader of this group, turned to me, "who are you and what are you doing with the bloodsuckers?"_

_Presently…_

**CHAPTER 10: HEARING MORE THAN NECESSARY, LEARNING MORE THAN WANTED**

I stared at him for a long, hard moment. I mean, really, _really_ stared. In that time, his eyebrows rose and he looked like he wanted to back away but did a good job of not moving. Slowly, a bit unsure if I should do it, I backed away from him, never removing my gaze. I think he could see what I was doing but he didn't look like he wanted to come near me.

He was something inhuman, something monstrous. He wasn't a vampire but he was like one. Disguised as a human, probably a killing machine, maybe even something I'd seen before. Not a werewolf, no definitely not. They always looked much more ragged and drained. Plus, the full moon had to be this week. He would have been looking sickly. These men looked perfectly healthy and fit. A transformation took a lot out of a person. That's how the Caius justified his senseless murders of the werewolves. He said he was putting them out of their misery. I had seen it happen, right before my eyes. So close that I could smell the blood and the fire and see the white teeth shining with a coat of venomous saliva that would make me something deadly and monstrous like the vampires but also different, the enemy.

No, this had to be something else. Shape-shifters? It could be. I'd never seen one before but maybe this was the first. But what could they possibly shift to?

"Answer the question, necrophiliac," someone growled. My gaze shot to Paul who was glowering at me with an expression of hate and disgust. I just rolled my eyes. Very mature, Paul.

"You want answers, go ask the so-called "blood suckers" that you are talking about. I've got nothing to do with them or whatever it is you're talking about." I turned away and looked around where we were. There wasn't much of a distance to the road that would probably lead me back to Forks. I could just try and walk that and see if it took me to the highway. I doubted the psychic hadn't seen what happened to me yet. If they hadn't come to get their insurance chip yet, there had to be a reason.

"You've got everything to do with them," Sam replied calmly, calling back my attention. "You're searching for them right now. They probably haven't even told you about the treaty yet –how they can't even come here to get you back. I know you're with them. Back at the school, you were there with them too. That teacher saw me and didn't let me see but I could tell by the way your scents mixed. Their stench is all over you." I sized up his response in my head before internally shrugging. I didn't really want to go back to the house but I didn't want to stay here and I didn't care to find out what the treaty was. It was cold and Paul was looking like he wanted to murder me. Sam might have had something to do with his sudden lack of shaking but I would have minded if that control had slipped even for a moment. This wasn't how I wanted to die. So I mentally squared my shoulders and thought up a plan. It wasn't exactly great but it could work.

Looking as confused and stupid as I could, I looked to Sam. "Treaty? What treaty?" He seemed smug the way he was looking at me, as if he had just pulled down the pants of someone he hated with a passion. With calm eyes and a grim line for a mouth, he appraised my presence in mock reluctance before leaning forward slightly as if to entice me to come forward. I did as was expected.

"The bloodsuckers you're staying with made a deal with us that they'd never cross over to our territory. And they definitely can't bite you. They do and we're at war." I wasn't really listening. Rather, I was thinking about how far forward I would have to move and how much time I'd have to make my presence known to the world outside this tiny little patch of land.

"If they feed off of you or attempt to change you, they'll be facing the werewolves. We won't allow them to break the treaty without consequence." I made sure to keep my eyes on him as I stepped forward. I leaned toward him a bit and whispered something much too quiet to be heard. Confused, he leaned forward with his brows furrowed, "What?"

"You're not werewolves." His eyes widened right before they clenched in pain and he buckled to the ground. As soon as my foot had hit the ground, I was running and screaming at the top of my lungs, "Help!"

I didn't look back and I ran and stumbled over pebbles too small to see but I kept on screaming, hoping there was a house close enough to the road for someone to hear me. My throat hurt (I'd never been one for making very vocal exclamations before) and I hoped it wouldn't begin squeaking quite yet. Suddenly, a too warm arm caught me around my waist and pulled me back, landing me in the warm chest of Paul. He was squeezing me too tight and his eyes were on fire, ready to try and burn me from the inside out. Instead of trying to glare on back, I screwed my eyes shut and screamed bloody murder in hope that someone would come and try to help. Some hitchhiking psychopath was better than this.

"Stop screaming," Paul yelled over me. "You're hurting my ears!" I just screamed louder while I kicked and pounded on his arm with my fist. They were all strong is seemed. I hadn't heard exactly of the strength of shape-shifters. In fact, I hadn't heard much of them at all. A couple passing comments from Alec was all I had as knowledge on them but from what I could tell, they must have some sort of super human strength that was similar to a vampire's. But vampires were practically made of rock. The only ones that matched up to them were werewolves. But Sam claimed them to be werewolves. What were these creatures?

"What the hell? Hey, leave that girl alone, Paul! Let her go!" My eyes snapped open at the boyish voice and a gangly looking boy with the same russet colored skin and dark eyes entered my vision. But he looked much younger and had something in his eyes –worry, fear, anger– that made me trust him. So I went limp in Paul's arms as he squeezed me so tight that my lungs felt them were about to pop and just stared at the boy who was coming closer, each step bringing up more panic to his eyes.

My vision began to blur as the air was pushed out of my lungs forcefully and my ribs felt they were about to break within me. Someone was shouting and the arms around me grew tighter until I was suddenly dropped to the ground and left gasping, my head whirling with dizziness. Cool hands –comparatively to the ones that were just holding me– were on my cheek and back, one trying to lightly slap some life into me while the other supported me as I was pushed to sit up.

I coughed and tried to find the strength to even out my breaths but it didn't work as well as I thought. The air burned and my eyes were tearing up. Someone started patting me on the back.

"Hey, you okay? I'm so sorry. I have no idea what Paul was thinking!" His low, comforting voice was the thing I listened to so I could focus on breathing.

"Jacob," someone called calmly. I turned my red face up and glared at Sam who now looked calm, so different from how he looked when he had realized my knee had met contact with his groin. "Help her up and give her back to me. She's been involved in some suspicious activities that I can't ignore."

"Sure she was," he sounded sarcastic. I was too busy glaring at Sam to look back and see if the boy –Jacob– was rolling his eyes. "Which is probably why you needed two guys twice her size to help back you up. Look at all the trouble she was being, right? Running away from three guys ganging up on her like a couple of gangbangers; she should have just sat still and took it, right?" He growled angrily. "You guys are the worst, you know that? You ought to be arrested or something. I can't believe the council actually looks to you all for protection. You're a bunch of brainless morons." There was a loud growl from behind Sam and I looked to see Paul struggling against Jared's strong yet straining hold. I flinched back.

"See what you've done? You've probably scared the hell out of her and now she'll press charges or something." He looked down to me and frowned. Carefully and almost timidly, he helped me stand and let me put a distance between myself and the others.

"Jacob, you don't understand. She's living with the Cullen family now. Isn't that at all suspicious to you?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "The family is full of adopted kids, none of which have ever caused any trouble or been anything other than model citizens. I'm sure _this_ is the one that is the mass murderer who will decide to kill off the reservation. Now, before you make any more accusations against that family, I'm going to take –"

"Bella," I murmured uncomfortably, squirming under the harsh glares coming from Paul and now Jared as well.

"Bella to my house so we can call the Cullens. I'll take her home since you all obviously won't allow _them _to come _here _to get her themselves." I shook my head quickly and looked down.

"I'll walk. I just want to get home without any more trouble." Okay, so maybe I was laying on the innocence a bit too thick. But I had to get to the lair before this treaty thing was broken, whatever it was. I'd heard of vampires killing out the werewolf species before it grew any larger and these shape-shifters claimed themselves to be werewolves.

If a war was started (I still hadn't figured out what kind of war it would be), would the Cullens kill these creatures to continue what the Volturi were doing? Carlisle didn't seem like the kind of person –I mean vampire, to do that kind of thing. They did look human, after all. Would he take pity on them and refuse to kill them because of the Volturi's rules or would he sacrifice his belief in humanity and turn the other way while the others kill them? The picture of him doing so didn't sit well in my mind.

"No, Jacob. She's dangerous. She can't be trusted anywhere near the Cullens. We've got to advise the council."

"Yeah, and while you're at it, I'm going to call the police in Forks to come and arrest you guys for harassment. And after I tell the Cullens, I hope on my life that they press charges against you sick bastards. Lord knows that something needs to be done about you all." They seemed to back off now. Sam's calm mask was starting to crack and his dark eyes began to burn.

"I'm taking her to my house now. We're going to call the Cullens and tell them where she is so they don't worry anymore than they have to." With that, Jacob started to lightly drag me towards the road. I didn't fight him. Trust, an emotion I hadn't really felt from anyone besides Carlisle, was spreading a bit deep now. Jacob looked like an overgrown child, just an inch taller than me and more roundness in his cheeks.

Once we got to the road, he began pulling me along a bit faster. I stumbled a bit before actually catching up.

"Sorry," he said guiltily. "I just don't like being too near to them for too long. La Push's so-called "Protectors" and here they are, attacking an innocent girl, three to one." He shook his head and turned to me fully, still walking.

"I really am sorry. I'm just glad I heard you from the Clearwater's house. But you probably don't know them anyway." I shook my head. The name…it seemed…familiar.

"Oh, I'm so stupid. I'm Jacob Black." He held out his hand quickly and awkwardly. Unable to return the gesture, I nodded and watched as his hand returned to his side just as awkwardly as it had come out.

"Bella S –Volturi. I'm Bella Volturi." He nodded and smiled at me, a large grin that resembled a ray of sunshine. It was nice. When had somebody ever smiled at me like that. He swung his torso back to look at the road again, his black hair swinging with him. I hadn't noticed that his air was about the same length as mine albeit straighter and probably much more tamable. It was tied at the nape of his neck, held in place by a rubber band.

"Yeah, I heard the Cullens had adopted another kid. I've never actually met any of them before, but I've heard they're really nice people." I nodded noncommittally made a sort of sigh turned grunt in response. I didn't feel like hearing all about the Cullen family's good deeds. It was still cold and I was tired and wanted to go back to the house. The school day had been hard and this had just made it worse. I held back a growl of annoyance towards whatever reason that thing took me for. The vampires were bad enough. I didn't need something else after me. Stupid werewolf wannabe's.

"Um…you don't mind me taking you to my house, do you? You can call your family yourself. If they can't come get you, I'll just borrow the Clearwater's truck and take you there myself. It'll be getting dark soon and I wouldn't feel comfortable with you walking home, even if you would have me with you." This boy was talkative. Not in an annoying way but just in a childish way. He looked a lot younger now, like a little kid with a big heart. I put in my best effort to turn and smile at him. It came out tired and sad and not at all right but I hoped he would understand.

"Sure," I said quietly. "That'd be great. I'd bet my life that they're worried sick about my welfare." Cold and impersonal was how it came out. Jacob just smiled at my voice and a little bounce entered his step.

"Well, we're here," he said happily, wordlessly guiding me to the little house's screen door. He walked in and called out, "Hey, dad, you got a minute?"

A man with wrinkled russet skin and dark eyes and long hair like Jacob's hanging over his shoulders rolled into the room on a wheel chair. As soon as he saw me, his eyes focused on me as if he was confused about something or like I was something familiar to him. Come to think of it, the name Black was familiar too….

"Who's your friend, Jake?" the man asked quietly, his eyes still appraising my face. I blushed under his scrutiny; embarrassment be damned.

"Oh, this is Bella Volturi, the Dr. Cullen's new kid," Mr. Black's eyes widened. "Actually, I'd like to speak to you about that. Sam's gang was bothering her today like she was some sort of criminal. You're on the council. That kind of stuff can't be happening around here, dad. Forks police would start giving the res trouble if they start hearing about local kids ganging up against innocent girls. It's not right." Black seemed to ignore him. When Jake had mentioned the police, his eyes had widened even more and I became more determined to remember whatever time had made me forget, whatever memory it was that made this person important to my past before Italy happened.

"You're completely right, Jake. How about you go and look up the Cullen's number and call them up to tell them where Bella is. Tell them that they can pick her at the line. They'll know where that is." Jacob just stared at the man incredulously as if he hadn't expected him to agree with him and then nodded at me, leaving presumably to get the phone.

As soon as he was gone, Mr. Black turned his wheel chair around and went to the small kitchen off to the side of the living room. The sound of things shuffling was all I could hear before something snapped shut and he was wheeled back into the room again carrying a picture frame in his lap. When he sat in front of me, he turned the frame in my direction and pointed at a person in the picture.

"This is you," he stated. I looked at the picture before recognition came to me.

It was me when I was younger. I was on a boat with Charlie and a man that looked very similar to the man who was holding the picture, both looking younger and more lively than I could remember. It hit me then.

This was Billy Black, my dad's best friend. Someone I actually remembered, for the most part. But he couldn't know. No, he couldn't. My father had disappeared off the face of Forks with my mother and his daughter, never to be seen again by old friends. No relatives existed. No one knew what happened to them. Charlie and Renee eloped with me in tow. That was all. There was nothing more. No one could know that my parents were no longer alive and I was adopted by the Cullens. No, Isabella Swan didn't exist anymore.

I screwed my brows and frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen this picture before and I don't look anything like that girl." Lie. I looked exactly like her. Awkward and pale with long, overly grown brown hair and bland brown eyes.

"Yes, you do remember. You're Charlie Swan's daughter. You disappeared with him seven years ago. He never turned up again. Neither did you. And now you're here with the Cullen family. What have they done with Charlie and Renee? What do they have planned for you?" he demanded. His eyes were fiery and angry and similar to Sam's as his control broke. Angry and peeved, I kept my face blank.

"I'm really sorry but I think you've got me confused with someone else. My name's Bella Volturi. It has been since I was born." Lie. "The Cullen's are my family and they will be for the rest of my life." Truth. "I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal about it. They're just a normal, loving family." Lie…truth…lie…truth…

"You remember me, I can see it in your eyes. For a moment, I could see it. You're lying to me. You know what I'm talking about. Your eyes are the same as Charlie's. He also couldn't lie to save his life." I continued to look confused and stupid and allowed agitation to begin to show.

"Look, I've got to get home. Esme," I internally cringed at her name, "is probably worried sick about me."

"Bella –"

"Hey, Bella, ready to go? I already called. Dr. Cullen said he'd come to get you just outside the res. I'll drive you there, alright?" I nodded to him, my eyes still matching up Billy's.

"I'm ready to go back," I said quietly, never dropping my gaze. Jacob's gaze shot from me to him, worry expressed whenever he looked at me and suspicion present when he stared at him. I nodded politely and turned to the door and walked out. The clouds made the sky look too dark for a measly time like five o'clock. It felt like it had been hours since I had been taken from school and run through the forestry. I hadn't realized how truly tired I had been until just now.

Jacob led me to a pick-up truck on the side of his house, hidden by the shadows. He unlocked my door and as soon as I was buckled began driving. I watched as small wooden houses passed us by, the porch lights all glowing yellow and orange, flickering shadows over the ceramic gnomes and carved wooden wind chimes that now tinkled in the night air.

"The guys, did they trick you into following them here or something?" I continued looking over the lawns as they disappeared from view.

"No, they took me from the school."

"What!?" he exclaimed loudly. "You mean, they actually _took _you from there, without your permission?!" I nodded casually. This seemed to aggravate Jacob. He sighed angrily and rubbed his hand over his face.

"I really wish you hadn't gotten such a bad impression of La Push while you were here. And I'm sorry if my dad was hassling you. The old man just doesn't know when to quit giving out old, half-baked tribal proverbs that were probably misinterpreted in the first place. They probably originally were meant to explain how to use the entire buffalo and are now great haiku's about life and philosophy and the gods." I couldn't help it. I laughed a choked laugh and hid my mouth behind my hand, trying to stifle the sound. Jacob just looked over at me and grinned a big, toothy grin that spread ear to ear.

"It's okay," I said after sobering myself up. "People have been saying stuff like that all day. My biology teacher was explaining how an amoeba was such an important life form. I don't understand how that is. No one cares about it now and they certainly didn't when no one knew it existed." He laughed and lightly hit his fist against the steering wheel. Then he turned his attention to the dashboard.

"I'm so glad the Chevy broke down and I got to borrow Henry's truck. His is so much easier to use." He gazed at me from the corner of his eye. "Don't squeal on me but I haven't gotten my license yet. I hope your dad won't mind." I frowned.

"He's not my dad." Jacob's smile fell quickly and he tried to correct what he had done.

"No, I'm sorry for implying that. I just –well, just assumed and –I didn't –" I cut him off with a wave of the hand.

"Don't worry about it. My parents died a while back. Carlisle's just not my father."

Jacob's brows furrowed. "I hope you don't mind me asking but, if your parents passed away some time ago, why are you just barely coming here? I heard Dr. Cullen is some distant uncle or something…" I nodded, making up the story in my head.

"He is but with the arrangements after my parents' death and everything going on with lawyers and everything, I've been tossed around a bit. Things just settled down recently. The Cullen family was finally able to take me in." All lies. How could one spew so many and not feel an ounce of sorrow or regret? I wasn't sure.

"Oh…umm…sorry but…how did it happen?" I looked out the window. He took it wrong.

"No, you don't have to explain if you don't want to. I was just curious." I shook my head again.

"It's okay. They were in a fire." Half-lie. Their bodies were burned in a furnace.

"I'm sorry. My mom died too; in a car accident." I returned his apology and frowned at him. Smiles weren't meant for the dead. Not now.

"They're here," he said quietly. "Well, this is it then. Again, I'm really sorry. I'll see if I can get my dad to take care of the guys, okay?" I shook my head.

"It's okay. These things happen. I'm over it." And with that, I walked over to the black Mercedes that was parked off the side of the road and climbed in the backseat where Edward sat directly behind Carlisle. The car was backed onto the road immediately before Edward had his hands on my head, turning it towards him and checking me over.

"She reeks of them Carlisle," he said quietly. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you at all, in any way?"

I sighed. "Nothing but a bruise to the pride. I don't like being carried around like some sort of rag doll. Running isn't particularly fun either." Edward sighed in relief and looked at me again, his gaze critical.

"What did they say?"

Another sigh. "They asked what I was doing with you all, the "blood suckers"," I rolled my eyes. "Really, couldn't they be more creative? Could they really not come up with a better, more theatrical name? Nosferatu would have been good…" Edward rolled his golden eyes, the irises bright even in the dark.

"Anything else?"

I thought back. "Yes, they said something about you all breaking the treaty, that it would start a war if you bit me. And something about them being werewolves. But they weren't, were they? Really, how could they have been confused by their own species? They are shape-shifters of some sort but they most definitely aren't werewolves." Edward appraised me again.

"Impressive. You're right, they aren't werewolves. Shape-shifters that shift to large wolves, yes, but definitely not werewolves. Perhaps they are at a disadvantage because they will shift when most volatile but I suppose every species has their faults," he shrugged. "I just didn't think the species still carried on." He turned to Carlisle. "We'll have to look more into it. I didn't expect that the wolf genes would continue being passed on through all these years."

Carlisle shook his head, his eyes closed as we continued on the highway.

"Neither did I. I thought they had died out. Fortunately for us, we aren't going to be partaking in any form of biting or trespassing in the time to come."

"I just wish people would stop kidnapping me or taking me hostage. If this continues, I'll be up for a world record on the person has been kidnapped the most and has lived to tell the tale." I leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes.

"You're being unusually vocal today. Are you sure you're alright?" Edward asked quietly, his smooth voice not disturbing the darkness. I shook my head.

"Just tired. Want to get back to the house. Long day." He didn't say anything more. The heater turned on and warm air filled the back seat, pulling me into a deep, exhaustion fueled sleep.

**A/N: **So, this chapter was a fairly good length. I liked this one too. It made me smile. It took me awhile to just buckle down and do it but once I started, something clicked. I was able to continue! Anyway, if you all didn't catch it, Mr. Barnes had yelled at someone during the last chapter (not the A/N…which you people REVIEWED when I hoped you wouldn't!). Sam was the one he had yelled out and threatened to call the cops on. Foreshadowing was there. Nearly everything in this story has meaning to it.

Anyway, next chapter will be the Cullen family's perspective on Bella's time away and then some. It'll be interesting. Please review this chapter. I'm back and ready to write. You all could be supportive. Most of you have been though, so I appreciate it.

Sincerely Yours,

Laura a.k.a Sovoyita


	12. Chapter 11: Nonsensory

**A/N: **I updated much more quickly this time. I'm kind of proud of myself. –grins- Anyway, this is the chapter that happened from Edward's POV but it pretty much gives you a whole family view. Lots of family dialogue in here. I kinda like it. It's fun to be surrounded by the Cullen family. Also, Edward is fun to write for in this chapter. So unknowingly funny! Anyway, **I've got a little surprise for you all at the bottom of the page! **Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight or its characters. They all belong to Stephanie Meyer.

**CHAPTER 11: NONSENSORY**

**EPOV**

"You lost her!? How could you lose a human girl? You're a vampire, for the love of God!" Emmett growled, angry that I had challenged his abilities.

"She was outside the office by herself and then I smelled those _mutts _and then her scent was gone! There were people in the office and in the parking lot; how the hell do you expect me to have been able to get through there without being seen running?"

I growled as his memory played over in the forefront of his mind, loudly recapping the little he had seen; practically nothing, really.

"The same way the one who took her did! What the hell were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren't thinking!" Another blow to his intelligence and I could tell he was going to snap. He may very well have looked like an idiot but he was intelligent.

_Shut the hell up Edward or you won't be able to play the piano until your fingers heal, _Emmett hissed through his thoughts. I rolled my eyes, very aware of how his plans would unfold. Rosalie's nails started tapping against her armrest, a ringing thud that reverberated against the glass walls. She sighed heavily, a false, annoying sound.

"There's no point in making such a big deal about this. The dogs took her; no big deal. Leave her there with them for a few more hours. We'll call the Volturi, have them take care of the problem and be done with it. Isabella will be long gone by then and the Volturi will get rid of the wolves. Everyone wins. She's been attempting death for awhile anyway, Carlisle said so. She'll just be getting what she wants." Alice, Jasper and I all growled at her, glaring at her uncaring expression of boredom. Alice knew that Bella was going to be her friend. She had seen it. But when Bella had disappeared, her vision had gone black with anything having to do with Bella. As far as Alice knew, Bella no longer existed in this world. She wouldn't stand for not having seen her vision a reality.

Jasper knew of Alice's reason for wanting Bella alive and had therefore made it his duty to become less of a liability when it came to her safety. If Bella got hurt, Alice would be hurt. He would endure and protect her for Alice's sake.

As for me, I remembered the wolves of the past, the shape-shifting humans that had only wanted to protect humans from the darker creatures that sucked the life out of their tribes. They hadn't been this volatile before. They must have thought that we planned on breaking the treaty. This all came unexpectedly to me though. The wolves had died out long ago. What could have caused them to come back?

"Rosalie, you know that is out of the question. Do not underestimate the Volturi's fury if they found out that the human girl they are breaking the rules for is in the hands of an enemy. They will not tolerate a mistake like this from us. We are already on the tight rope. Let's not remove the net as well from beneath our feet," Carlisle said from his seat at the head of the table.

"Edward," Jasper said. "Did you hear the thoughts of the one who took her? Maybe a hint of his plan?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and grit my teeth before loosening myself up again. Anger would not help us now.

"No," I admitted shortly. "I was blocking at the time and hadn't really thought I would need to be cautious because Alice hadn't had a vision." Alice growled, her teeth snapping together loudly.

"It's not your fault," I amended. "It's possible that their plan hadn't been thought through, perhaps a rogue wolf getting revenge or acting on its own. We can't know for sure."

Esme frowned from her spot beside Carlisle, gripping his hand tightly. "Isn't there a way we can ask for her safe return without angering them? If we could just talk to them, maybe they'll let her come back."

"Or maybe," Rosalie interrupted with a sneer. "Isabella agreed to go with them. She's probably been _dying _to get back at the Volturi for taking her under their wing. The ungrateful girl is just using the dogs for her own needs. Once the Volturi come, they'll annihilate us and the mutts and she'll be dead."

"That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard, Rosalie," Alice retorted. "How does that plan ensure that Bella exacts her revenge on the Volturi? That would only lead to the end of us and the wolves and her. The Volturi would only lose _one_ potentially powerful vampire." Rosalie growled at that silent insinuation. She saw that insult and her vanity took her over when Alice suggested that Rosalie was not the powerful one she spoke of.

"We don't know Bella well enough but I don't feel that she would willingly go with whoever took her, Rosalie," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "She's been held captive all her life. Any form of captivity will frighten her now, even if it is committed by someone who appears human. Assuming this is the same species we encountered all those years ago, there will be very few wolves. We can only hope that they see the benefit of acting calmly and releasing Bella on our request rather than insist on a fight. Their leader will know that a fight would be the end of their pack. I'm sure he wouldn't allow that."

"If their pack is so small, why don't we just take them?" Emmett argued. "I'll take them myself. They need to be taught not to mess with us or Bella. She's part of the family now and their ain't no way in hell that they'll get off that easily!" Emmett pounded his fist into the air. His thoughts were filled with the essence of a fight, the adrenaline he wished he could feel, the knowledge that he would be stronger than any single opponent he faced.

Rosalie sniffed in disgust. "She's not part of our family. She's a nuisance that just happens to be a good practice dummy for our control and a nice puzzle for Edward to solve."

Emmett frowned but didn't argue with her. He knew what that road would lead to: sleeping on the couch…figuratively, of course. Emmett had enjoyed Bella's living in our house. Her humanness amused him, her scowls and her pathetic excuse for growls whenever he tried to tease her were little things he had never focused on before with normal humans even though he had probably noticed nearly as much as I did. Maybe it was only this particular human that amused him so much.

"This is so frustrating!" Alice growled loudly, worrying Jasper. He tried to send out a wave of calmness only to see Alice's mighty glare in response. "She's not there! Nothing is. And because I don't even know who to look out for, I can't see what they're doing."

"Edward," Esme said. "What do you think we should do? Have you not gotten closer to Bella? I've seen her listening to your music when she enters and leaves her room."

I sighed. "She's as close to me as she is to you, mom. My idea is as good as yours."

_Please Edward, just tell me what you think we should do, _she thought. I sighed but nodded.

"We can't cross the treaty line and we can't call into La Push and ask for someone who might not even be there. The tribal council will not trust our intentions if we ask for Bella back. We have no face and all we can rely on is a scent that both Emmett and I know. I say we wait. It's all we can do without starting a war with the pack."

Carlisle nodded in agreement and squeezed Esme's hand tighter. She looked about ready to burst into tears at the thought of leaving Bella alone for so long with strangers that she had been kidnapped by.

"So we wait," Carlisle finished.

--

Time continued as it always had but I felt a delay as the seconds took longer to pass. Bella was out there with wolves, wolves that we knew nothing of. _Wolves. _Of all the creatures she could possibly have been taken by, she was taken by the ones that were supposed to be extinct. Lovely.

What was worse was that if I had just taken met her and Emmett after their last class to assure that she had been fine like I was supposed to, none of this would have happened. But knowing that she would be angry about her name change, I had tried to avoid her anger by trying my best to at least quell her anger before she could argue with me (whom I assumed she would be angriest at because I was the first to warn her). That's why I had allowed Emmett alone to assist her at the office with her schedule. I needed to heat of the car first. My feeble attempt to at least appease her by taking into consideration her hate for the cold (another thing I learned from careful observation; she always seemed to have a chill and the temperature had dropped as the day went by) was the factor that had gotten her kidnapped. If I had been there, none of this would have happened. If I had –

_Your guilt is making me feel awful, Edward, _Jasper thought. _It's not your fault. _He knocked on my door once before entering, knowing I would have taken that as enough of a warning.

"She seems like the unlucky type, anyway," Jasper continued aloud. "Taken by the Volturi, the only ones who could possibly get away with taking a human girl in and not killing her, then forced to live with us after, well , you know, " I grimaced. "And now taken by wolves. I can't see her as the girl who'd ever have a chance at winning the lottery."

"Don't forget her parents, Jasper," I said quietly. "They were also taken from her. I wonder what would have changed if they too had been special and if they would have been changed before it was too late. What would have happened if they had survived in the vampiric sense of the word?"

"They would have been her murderers," Jasper replied. "And once they had realized what they had done to their daughter, they would have begged for death anyway. No one would have won except the  
Volturi."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair out of habit. Being around Bella for so long reminded me of being human and though I couldn't remember much through the murky water of memories, I felt as if I was remembering. It was a strange feeling. There was still so much to figure out. I needed Bella here so I could solve the puzzle. She was the puzzle in its entirety and without her, how would I know what the missing piece was?

"Alice knows Bella isn't dead." My head shot up and I looked at Jasper with hope.

"She had a vision?" Jasper shook his head and my hope vanished.

"Don't be so down. Alice said that she knows that Bella isn't dead and that she probably hasn't been harmed yet. She calls it psychic's intuition," Jasper said, humor in his voice.

_Probably? Yet? _

"Please tell me have something more to go on than Alice's _feeling_?" I asked hopelessly.

_Hey, at least I'm trying, _Alice thought grumpily. _I've been having flickers but that's it. There was one just a minute ago where I saw something, trees and stuff, but things disappeared again. She's tough, just like I knew she'd be. She's fighting._

Alice waltzed into my room, her head held high and a smug air that was only intensified by the determination in her eyes.

"I think she's getting away from them. Things are starting to appear again but I can't really tell what's going on. She's walking as far as I know but I don't know where."

Her vision played over in her head for me to see. Tall furs alongside a dark road, a slow slope of land that you could see houses beyond, the sound of waves crashing against rocks and sand….

"I've seen that place before. When we first made the treaty with the wolves. They must have taken her back there to interrogate her. It's like a tradition with them," I murmured to myself, knowing I wouldn't have to repeat it for Alice and Jasper.

"We weren't there when the treaty was made, Edward," Alice reminded me. _I didn't know where she could have possibly been when I first saw that. I've been hiding out in the trees trying to get closer to where she might be. Plus, I've been trying to keep you out too. You've been rather testy as of late._

"Sorry," I muttered. And then Alice's mind clouded again and her eyes shut as another vision came to the forefront of her mind.

_A rickety looking house with a screen door, a boy leading Bella through the door, the sound of rubber wheels rolling across linoleum. A flash of black. _

We'd almost lost it. The vision flashed forward.

"_This is you," a deep, gravelly voice said. A man sat in a wheelchair, his wrinkled face determined, dark eyes focused. A picture, a girl on a boat with two men, one who looked similar to the girl. They had the same hair and eyes, the same awkward smiles. _

"_I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen this picture before and I don't look anything like that girl." A quiet female's alto voice; she was lying. _

The vision flashed forward.

"_No, they took me from the school." _

"_What!?" he exclaimed loudly. "You mean, they actually took you from there, without your permission?!" Bella nodded uncaringly. She had seen outside the windows, watched the trees pass by as the houses disappeared. She was nearing something. Everything disappeared for a moment before flashing back. They were at the line. Carlisle's car was there. _

Alice's eyes opened and her thoughts became her own.

"The call will be coming right about," she listened. "Now." The phone rang loudly, the obnoxious sound reverberating in my ears. "I think you should go with Carlisle to pick her up, just to make sure she's okay. I'd go but I have a feeling she doesn't like me quite that much at the moment," Alice said, annoyed. "She seems to have the harshest feelings for people who have unique gifts. If she hadn't already had a resentment for all vampires, I would have been worried that we had another Rosalie on our hands." Rosalie growled from her room. Alice ignored her. "You have a gift too but I think she sees that mine is the most unique seeing as Aro hasn't seen one like mine in his existence. You probably bother her as much as Emmett would."

"Alice, I'm the last person she would want to see. If I hadn't –" Alice cut me off with a snort.

"Yeah Edward, I'm sure she would just dump all this on you. If you hadn't gone to heat up the car, she wouldn't have gotten taken. If you had warned her properly, she wouldn't have been so angry that she wanted to let Emmett take her sign in form to Ms. Cope rather than have to go in herself. If you had just killed her in the first place, she wouldn't have to deal with this. What next Edward? What could she possibly blame you for that you haven't already thought of?" I sighed angrily and pinched the bridge of my nose hard. Alice could be so…

_Damn right I'm difficult, _Alice bragged hotly. _Now, go get my best friend before I lose my sight again. I don't think I could handle that much stress in such a short period of time._

I nodded and stood as Carlisle's Mercedes' engine purred to life outside. Within seconds I was in the car and Carlisle had sped off toward the treaty line, a line that we hoped we would never have to cross.

--

"Do you hear them?" Carlisle asked as he pulled onto the side of the road, moistened dirt squelching beneath the tires. I nodded.

"The boy she's with thinks loudly. He's embarrassed about what he saw happen. The men who took Bella are named Sam, Jared and Paul. They call themselves, "Protectors"." I sighed angrily, annoyed that from the image of them, they all seemed to be at their peak of physical growth. Such large creatures that were so strong handling Bella, I could only hope no harm had come to her. The boy was worrying excessively, his thoughts completely revolving around her well being. Did that mean that he actually had something to worry about?

As the quiet rumbling of a truck neared, the scent of Bella came to me. Carlisle had yet to smell its potency, a reminder of just how strong Bella's blood called to me. This would probably be the only time I would ever be thankful that I had the curse of knowing Bella's blood to be sweeter than any others.

Bella and the boy were talking, a relaxed chat that I didn't feel the need to eavesdrop upon. When a black truck pulled up to the line, Bella climbed out and said, "It's okay. These things happen. I'm over it," before walking towards us. As soon as she climbed in and the door was shut, Carlisle pulled out quickly and began a slower pace back to the house. He most likely wanted to hear what she'd say before we got there.

I took her head between my hands as gently as I could, turning it from side to side to get a better look. She must not have noticed that she had leaves in her hair, the scent of wet dog surrounding her.

"She reeks of them Carlisle," I muttered to him, trying to keep my tone quiet. Bella's eyes weren't as wide and open as they had been before and her face was slack with what I could only see as exhaustion. I hurriedly asked her questions in hope that I could get answers before she started passing out on me. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you at all, in any way?"

She sighed, her eyes drooping even more. . "Nothing but a bruise to the pride. I don't like being carried around like some sort of rag doll. Running isn't particularly fun either." Immense relief filled me. She hadn't been hurt and as far as I was concerned, her pride would be fine as long as the kidnapping business didn't become a habit. A moment passed before I remember exactly what we needed to know.

"What did they say?" I asked. She sighed heavily again. "They asked what I was doing with you all, the "blood suckers"," she rolled her eyes. "Really, couldn't they be more creative? Could they really not come up with a better, more theatrical name? Nosferatu would have been good…" I rolled my eyes back at her, silently relieved that they hadn't tormented her nearly as much as I thought they might have. For all I knew, this species could have evolved since the last time we had encountered them.

"Anything else?" She paused for a moment, her eyes rolling upward as her head leaned back unconsciously.

"Yes, they said something about you all breaking the treaty, that it would start a war if you bit me. And something about them being werewolves. But they weren't, were they? Really, how could they have been confused by their own species? They are shape-shifters of some sort but they most definitely aren't werewolves." Her eyes were brighter but she never seemed to hint at the fact that she had noticed something that not even most vampires would have noticed. Admiration for her seemed to flow through me.

"Impressive. You're right, they aren't werewolves. Shape-shifters that shift to large wolves, yes, but definitely not werewolves. Perhaps they are at a disadvantage because they will shift when most volatile but I suppose every species has their faults," I shrugged. "I just didn't think the species still carried on." I turned to Carlisle. "We'll have to look more into it. I didn't expect that the wolf genes would continue being passed on through all these years."

Carlisle shook his head. "Neither did I. I thought they had died out. Fortunately for us, we aren't going to be partaking in any form of biting or trespassing in the time to come."

_It's been so long, _he thought. _Have they really held their grudges for this long? _

"I just wish people would stop kidnapping me or taking me hostage. If this continues, I'll be up for a world record on the person has been kidnapped the most and has lived to tell the tale." Bella sighed a yawn, leaning her head back against the seat, her eyes fluttering closed just softly enough that I could hear the air as it was fanned away with her lashes. The blood beneath her thin skin moved through her veins, blood pumping thickly around her throat as the sound of her words died in the air. I swallowed thickly.

"You're being unusually vocal today. Are you sure you're alright?" My voice came out a little too rough and I hoped terribly that Bella couldn't hear it.

_Edward, are you alright? _I nodded minutely. Bella shook her head, her hair tangled against the leather seats.

"Just tired. Want to get back to the house. Long day." I watched as her eyes moved beyond her lids, her breath becoming deeper. I reached over and turned on the heater. Hot air shot out through the car.

_She's been through so much in one day. She's so strong to have gone through this all alone. _

I knew he didn't only mean the events of the day but I didn't say a thing. Bella's chest rose and fell in soft motions as she succumbed to sleep.

**A/N: **The surprise, the surprise…well, it's not much of a surprise. More like I'm offering to let you all read something that I let my readers for Blinding Lights read. I am writing an original story and, if you all read Blinding Lights, you know what I attempted to do before I turned 17 (did I mention I am now 17?). Well, people who reviewed the last chapter of Blinding Lights got an excerpt from my story. Now, if you all review this chapter, you get the excerpt as well.

I've heard it's pretty good but they might have just been being nice. It's probably mediocre. Oh well. So if you review, you get an excerpt. You don't, well, yeah, you can PM me if you still want an excerpt but I think that's kind of a waste of time. Reviewing is so much easier and it saves time.

Please Review!!!


	13. Chapter 12: Falling In With the Vamps

**A/N: **I'm alive and in pain but still kicking!

Alright, my compadres, let's get my explanation over and done with! I've been super busy. Like so busy that I think I'm going to collapse from exhaustion busy; so busy I haven't contacted my friends because I haven't had the chance; so busy that I think I'm gonna puke; so busy....

That I'm rambling.

Anyway, I'm losing my touch. I've been procrastinating in everything I've got to do and I've been losing myself in unimportant things so I can distract myself from everything important. It's stupid and irresponsible and I'm sorry for taking it out on you guys. But I'm done with that now. I've come to a new appreciation for you all. It took me awhile to figure it out. And while I won't be able to write as much or as often as I'd like (I'm a senior in high school; I've got stuff to do and colleges to convince), I'll be much more dedicated than I have been recently. I swear it, guys. No more messing around.

So, for all you loyal readers, here's the next chapter of Isabella Marie Swan Volturi. I hope you all enjoy it and start expecting a new chapter soon. It'll be coming to a webpage near you!

**CHAPTER 12: JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE NOT FALLING IN WITH THE VAMPS...**

The days following my werewolf/shape-shifter-kidnapping, I was surrounded by vampires. They were constantly watching me, testing the air around me as if they saw me to be a time bomb that was going to burst at any moment. They didn't seem to believe that I was fine. This was just something that happened. First I was kidnapped by vampires, now shape-shifters who thought they were werewolves. Maybe a crazy hybrid breed would kidnap me next. I would have to wait and see if witches were real too.

School work was hardly a thing for me to fuss over, but I did relish the time I spent doing it. It was my one excuse for needing to be alone in the Cullen home; I complained that I preferred to work in solitude. In the long hours that I spent carefully placing every letter on my paper, dotting every "i" differently and crossing every "t" with either a swirled end or a perfectly straight line, I was able to soak in the silence that I had always wanted but could never get when surrounded by the wandering red eyes of a vampiric overlord.

Still, I could hear them outside my door, my imagination creating the sounds that that should have been there. It made me uncomfortable to know that they could creep about without making a single shift in the atmosphere. That fact wreaked havoc on my mind.

"Bella, can I come in?" A tinkling voice, soprano-toned….had to be the psychic.

"Yes," I said, not even looking up from my work. Still a couple more t's to cross.

She let herself in and landed in front of me, lying on her stomach with her ankles crossed as they sat perfectly in the air.

"Are you having any trouble with your homework? You've been in here for awhile…" I knew she didn't need an answer. It had obviously already been finished if my numerous sheets of writing-filled paper were anything to go by.

"I'm fine." I hoped the resolve in my voice would get her to leave.

"Well, since you are done," her voice perked up a bit, "maybe you'd be willing to go grocery shopping with me. I've never gone before and if ever you were to get sick, god forbid, I'd need to know what kind of groceries you'd want me to get for you. We haven't done _that _before."

She was hyper and that kind of annoyed me. I'm sure at one point in my life I would have appreciated her happiness and her joyous little dance-like walk, but at the moment, I was feeling like I was being pulled like a taut string, ready to snap. Or maybe that was just my temper talking.

"I'll buy my own food, thank you." She sighed.

"Bella, you've been here for nearly two weeks. I understand you are adverse to my kind but could you please not take it out on me?" I looked up to see her large golden eyes—large puppy-dog eyes that blinked widely—and frowned at her. Vampires had charms that they used, like beauty and their scent, traits that made them appealing and mysterious. Human eyes liked pretty things, things like sparkly baubles and vampires, and I could tell Alice was trying to appeal to my more human nature. Unfortunately for her, I no longer was the human I had once been, the one who could grow entranced by a set of glowing eyes and a kind smile.

"I appreciate your family's hospitality, Alice," I said calmly, "but in coming here, I did not promise to become your friend. I'm sorry if this disappoints you." I stood from my spot by the window, hiding a wince as I went, packing up my books and setting on the bed before exiting the room, Alice's eyes being the picture behind my eyelids, displaying emotions that I was better off not caring for.

--

"Are you unhappy?"

"How'd you guess?"

"You're not talking to the others, you know. They're starting to think you like me more."

"Ha."

Simple sentences were my own responses to Edward's questions and inquiries. I didn't exert much effort into doing it. If the Volturi wanted information, they'd taken getting it out of me through force. Edward, it seemed, had taken our first encounter and used that as an example of what _not_ to do when around me.

"Really, Bella, they are worried. Carlisle is thinking about therapy."

I raised an eyebrow at the muffin that I had been breaking apart in my hands. "They want to get me a shrink? I wonder what he'll think about me saying, "I see vampires.""

"Funny, Bella."

"Wait, so was there really any reason for us to sit at another table for lunch? It's not like the others can't hear us anyway." Edward didn't say anything and I didn't bother to look up to see if he shrugged. I pictured it though.

"They can hear us but it's really just the principle of talking privately away from others."

"Ah…so I can go now, right? That is, if you're finished talking. Wouldn't want to be rude or anything…" He sighed and I pretended that he shook his head.

"Yeah, you can go."

I stood, dusting off my crumb-covered fingers on my jeans and wrapping up my uneaten muffin in its plastic wrapper. Just as I turned from the table, Edward spoke.

"Bella, I know you aren't comfortable around us, but I do think you should make an effort to be around us more often. Despite what you think of us, we're not the Volturi. We're a family. We care about you just as much as we care about each other. Please consider that."

I didn't say anything in return but I saw in Edward's eyes the genuine concern he held, whether for his own family or me.

_Doesn't change anything, _I thought to myself. _Not a damn thing._

--

"How long have you been in pain?"

"Hmmm?" I turned to see the empath standing in my doorway.

"Your chest, it's been aching, hasn't it? In two ways, if I'm correct in my assumptions."

I turned away from my bed, leaving the wrinkles I had been straightening out alone for the moment. The Volturi had demanded cleanliness amongst their dust. I'd never been immaculate about my belongings but I was used to having everything in order. Looking at it, I disliked how everything had a place. I was tempted to leave my books at my bedside table so I could fall asleep next to them, maybe read them as I waited to the heaviness of fatigue to take me away. I couldn't do that with the compulsiveness the Volturi had instilled in me.

"Are you annoyed at me or something in your thoughts? I can only feel what you feel; the meanings behind the feelings are not clear."

"Alice saw my pain and asked you to tune into it, didn't she?" I asked, looking at him. Looking at these vampires and comparing them to the ones of Italy was weird. There in Italy where the sun shone brightly, the vampires were like shadows that followed your every movement, a curse that you had no control over. In cloudy Forks, watching these vampires and staring at them was like staring into the sun. It nearly burned my eyes.

"Not at first. I told her what you were feeling. Every deep breath and sigh caused you more pain. You didn't tell Carlisle about the wolves handling you, did you?"

"What could he have done?" I questioned calmly, looking away now. My eyes burned as I resigned myself to not feeling helpless. Paul had been brutal in his attack. Never mind that I'd been attacked by vampires before. The heat of Paul's arms and his strength had scared me, though at the time I hadn't paid much attention to it. As I looked back, I realized how truly frightening asphyxiation could be. "The past is the past. There was no need to inform him if he couldn't change it."

"He could have helped ease the pain," Jasper informed, smiling kindly as if remembering a fond memory. "Carlisle's particularly good at that."

"So I've heard." I too remembered how good Carlisle was at easing pain. My healing wrist was enough to remind me of that.

He remained in my doorway, a knowing look on his face as he saw that I wouldn't allow him to finish any sort of normal and enlightening conversation with him.

"I don't expect you to spill your life for me," Jasper said quietly. "If you were that trusting in me, I'd be worried. However, it would be good for you if you did, excluding the fact that I just told you I shouldn't be trusted so easily. Either way," he shrugged, "I can empathize."

"That was a horrible pun."

"Yeah it was, Jazz," Alice said as she bounded into the room, her smile glowing brightly to make me want to squint. "I guess I'll have to _pun_ish you."

I groaned as Jasper and Alice laughed together. I plopped onto my bed and laid down, ignoring the two as their chuckles dwindled to silence.

I laid my hands over my stomach only to wince visibly and decide that it wasn't the best idea. Paul's powerful, crushing arms had left large bruises across my ribs and stomach, the shape of muscular arms looking like thick pipes had hit me square in the chest. It had never occurred to me before that I would bruise so easily.

"Would you at least let me check to see if you're alright? I'd hate to find out you have a collapsing lung behind your shallow breathing," Alice said, delicately sitting beside me and moving to pat my knee slowly, as if she feared I could run away from her.

When I looked up at the doorway, Jasper was gone, his silent exit making me wary. Alice, from what I'd seen of her, could get whatever she wanted. She'd managed to get certain people at school to talk to me while making others avoid me or at least miss me whenever they tried to get near. Even in her own home, her way was nearly always the path that was right. Her decisions and outlook were valuable here. Did that mean she had some sort of power that the Volturi—and now I—didn't know about? The power of perplexing persuasion?

"I'm not going to strap you down and lift your shirt, Bella," Alice giggled. It was cute, musical, and creepy as hell. "I just want to check on the bruises. If they're worse than I thought they were, I'll ask Carlisle to get you some prescription pain reliever and maybe we'll bandage you up, if you let us," she added.

It took me a moment of careful consideration and yearning (I was tired of walking around, carefully analyzing every breath I took just in case it was too much) for less pain before I nodded slowly, unsure of my own decision. Alice visibly brightened and she shut my bedroom door, practically vibrating as she went. I was nervous and uncomfortable; I wasn't keen on lifting my shirt for anyone, let alone a vampire.

Alice carefully peeled my shirt upwards, keeping her cold hands from touching me. I kept my breaths shallow and Alice winced when she saw the marks on my chest, blue-violet toned skin painted brightly against my pale skin.

"They didn't do anything else to you, did they?" Alice asked quietly, placing the back of her hand against the largest bruise, one the shape of Paul's fist where he had pushed it into my side. I flinched but then relaxed as the coolness of her skin numbed my pain. I shook my head lightly.

"Nah. Just a couple bruises; no big deal."

Alice growled under her breath, "This is _so _not the time for minimizing the damage, Bella. If Emmett or Edward finds out, they'll try and go get revenge. And because it was men attacking you, Rose will probably try and beat them to the punch."

"Well, that's stupid." Surprised, Alice looked up. Her eyebrow was raised delicately at me.

_Explain, _her eyes said.

"Revenge isn't a good thing," I pointed out. "If it was, I'd be exacting my revenge on everyone who had ever wronged me. The Volturi would be the first to face my wrath," I ignored the smirk on Alice's face. She could laugh all she wanted. "However, revenge, like anything that draws you in, is going to bite back at you if you slip up once. What's the point in risking yourself just to show others that they can't keep running over you?"

"Bella," Alice started but was interrupted as the bedroom door was slammed open, revealing a dour-looking Edward, his eyes nearly black, gaze piercing me silently as the tension in the room suddenly became so tangible that it could be cut with a knife.

His gaze traveled slowly down to Alice's pale hand that covered the fist-shaped bruise, a bruise that was larger than Alice's by inches. He growled deeply, his eyes growing darker.

"Shit," Alice cursed quietly.

--

"You weren't going to tell me?!"

"Because I knew how you'd react!"

"This isn't something you should keep secret, _Alice_!"

"This isn't your problem, _Edward_!"

I was raising my hand to get them to stop, trying to peak my words through their heavily rising argument, but my words were lost somewhere in the swirling anger than surrounded the two.

"Hey, guys," I muttered, and still the intensity of their yelling rose, Jasper entering the verbal brawl as well.

"She didn't do anything wrong, Edward!"

"Jasper, this is as much your fault as it is hers! You both have known and not told a soul!"

"She didn't want you to—"

"SHUT UP!"

The three looked at me and my already red cheeks, tinted from my anger, deepened in color. Traitor tears filled my eyes because of my frustration and I silently cursed at myself for being so weak and emotional.

"I want you out of my room in as soon as I finish," I warned. "If you are going to start screaming, like hell you'll do it here. I haven't got the patience to see how long a couple of vampires can argue for."

They stared at me, golden eyes wide and unblinkingly awed. Frustrated, I growled.

"I'm done!"

They were gone in seconds, having sped out of the room immediately, the door gently closing behind them as if a breeze had shut it closed.

_Honestly, _I thought in embarrassment. _Is that really how a vampire coven should act? You'd think they were siblings arguing over a toy or something!_

"Bella?" There was a light knocking on my door as I stared up, surprised by the tender voice that I easily recognized as Esme's. Of all the vampires in the house, I avoided her most of all.

"Come in," I sighed, wincing when I sat up on the wrong hand. I was just bruises and broken bones all over, it seemed.

She entered, her hair flowing gracefully around her slightly downturned face. She looked as if she were being cautious around me, as if I was the danger in this room. As she came within feet of me, she looked up, her golden eyes round and nearly glistening. It was a sight I wasn't prepared for and had never before anticipated. A bashful and sad looking vampire…who would have thought?

"I hope you don't mind, but I overheard your conversation with Alice, Edward and Jasper…" I nearly snorted. The vampires in New York probably heard it.

"I was just wondering if...well, I understand you are not fond of living here. It must not be an upgrade from your home in Italy," she paused. I wanted to correct her and say that Italy had never been my home but I knew how rude it would have sounded. She had not yet provoked any sort of negative remarks from me. "If you'd find more comfort in some items of sentimental value, I'd be willing to assist you in retrieving them."

Confused, I asked, "What do you mean?" Her gentle, soft face looked unsure but she still answered.

"Your father had a home here in this town. If I'm correct, the house is technically yours. If you'd like, we could retrieve pictures or items that may hold some value to you from the house for you to keep. That house hasn't been interrupted in the time since it was…well, it has remained empty for so long." When I looked at her, I recognized not pity but a sort of estranged understanding of loss and instantly felt a sort of kinship with this woman with her hauntingly attractive and matronly appearance.

"I….I'll think about it. Thank you." She smiled, a small yet bright and warming smile that made my face heat up and she nodded, quietly exiting my room.

This was exactly why she was the one I avoided the most.

**Oops...Disclaimer says I own nothing. Confucius says I suck. :)**

**Please review!!!**

**P.S. **_Readers of my other stories, I swear you guys are getting what you all deserve very soon. I've been trying to type everything up perfectly but things aren't flowing like I'd like them to. I apologize but just give me a bit of time. I'm trying my very best. Thanks for being understanding. _


	14. Chapter 13: To Be Human Part 1

**A/N: **I would have had this bloody chapter posted this morning but my blasted school decided, "Oh, let's make Laura's life a living hell and block Fan Fiction. That seems like it'll be fun and maybe we'll see her crack under the pressure! Whoo, go tyranny!"

So yeah, here's Chapter 13.

**Disclaimer: **Can be found in all the other chapters.

**CHAPTER 13: TO BE HUMAN PART 1**

"Occasionally, I wonder what it would be like to wonder about having a living family."

I turned to Esme, dust flying from my hair and into the surrounding air, nearly making me sneeze with familiarity. Italy had been a mighty dusty place as well and this dust was only slightly better tasting than that dust. It reminded me of the dust Charlie always had to sweep off Christmas ornaments when he finally took the time to get a Christmas tree (a last minute venture at best). It had always made me giggle when I would see him with white and gray powder in his hair and snow and ice on his boots. Shaking my head at the memories, I returned my attention to Esme who looked as if she wasn't expecting a question in return but wouldn't mind one either.

"So you _don't _think about it?" She smiled and shook her head, lemon-scented rag still gathering the dust that I was spreading from the old, out-dated television. The couch that she stood next to was crawling with mites and the remains of said mites and it reeked of abandonment. She had offered to have it cleaned but I declined. It was likely it wouldn't even _stand_ my weight. The amount of effort and money it would take to have it fixed would be outrageous compared to its actual worth.

"I think about it all the time," she said lightly, "but I've never really questioned actually _wanting _one. The family I have is safe and it is nearly whole. I'm happy with the way things have played out, despite the bad start to it all." She smiled as she saw the faux wood shine. She'd been going at it at an uncharacteristically slow pace as far as vampires were concerned. I'd always known them to be impatient at best, always wanting instant gratification. For creatures that were going to live forever, they sure were in a rush.

"I don't miss my family that much," I replied quietly. She turned to me, confusion in her golden eyes. I looked away, my hands suddenly becoming much more interesting to look at compared to the dust in the air that separated Esme and I.

"It's okay to miss them, Bella. I miss my child all the time and then some," Esme said. I looked up, confused.

"_Your _child?" She nodded, a sad smile on her face as her eyes misted, a clear glaze of unshed venom. I wondered briefly if it burned to have venom in your eyes and wondered if it would always burn when you couldn't cry.

"He didn't survive birth but I had loved him so very much. I'm still sad that he died but I can't honestly complain when his death led me to this new life I lead, one of happiness and everlasting hope. You may find this slightly morbid," she added with a hint of humor mixed in her sadness, "but that child gave me a reason to kill myself so that I could be given life. A better life, at that."

She was right; I did find that morbid. However, it nicely shielded my own dark sense of humor with Esme's strangely bright and optimistically dark humor. This side of her was probably a one time thing because I couldn't imagine her repeating what she'd just said over again but it was nice of her to express it with me.

"Well, I feel that I have thoroughly ruined the calm mood. Are you hungry? We could grab something to eat?" I sighed and decided that if I was going to die soon, gluttony was one of the things I'd partake in. Indulging in food hadn't ever really been a big thing for me. That being said, recently my diet had been lacking even by my own lackluster standards. I was starving.

Esme took my sigh as a yes and led me out to her car, a blue-steel colored Mercedes. It just seemed to fit her in a weird way, like a softer version of Carlisle's serious black Mercedes. I assumed they got them as a pair.

There was little chatter in the time it took for Esme to speed down the highway and into Port Angeles in search of good food and atmosphere. She didn't seem to find it at all awkward that I'd be eating and she'd be watching me.

When I was finally seated at a booth, I realized how relieved I was that I had been allowed to choose the restaurant. Esme had listed many options, from the high scale, member-only restaurant to the extensively French restaurant with a maître whom would likely try to chat us up. Luckily, I'd seen a small café with a bakery and decided that it was probably best for me to not rock my own boat. I'd never been particularly good at dealing with the formalities of things. Eating was just something I'd never want to have to have excessive manners for. Much too complicated in my opinion. Esme didn't seem bothered as she pretended to daintily sip from her glass of water, her hand so cold that the room temperature drink was now drawing in condensation to the glass.

"Thank you," I muttered quietly so no one would hear except for her. "I doubt anyone would have known to offer to take me back home after what happened the last time I was there." She smiled and shook her head.

"You overestimate me. Everyone wanted to see that you got closure. They were just…a bit more hesitant, I suppose."

"Everyone?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. Esme frowned and I found myself feeling guilty.

"Admittedly, not everyone but it's no matter. Rosalie has always been a bit slow to accept others. It's only a matter of time before she comes around," Esme replied with a wary smile. I think she knew that I highly doubted that Blondie would be all fine and dandy in time.

After the waitress came and took my order (it took her a bit longer because she was ogling Esme out of the corner of her eye), Esme and I sat in an awkward silence, me sipping my coke while she pretended to sip her water, occasionally spilling some into a the flower vase on our table for the single wilting flower that was there so quickly that had I seen the difference in the water's volume in her glass, I would have never even known.

"I never got a chance to tell you," I started, "but I think your home is lovely." She immediately brightened, putting down her water glass so she could clasp her hands together.

"Oh thank you, Bella. I'm so glad you approve of it." My face heated but my embarrassment seemed unjustified. She was glad I approved. Did this mean she'd been awaiting my approval the entire time?

"Well I—" was suddenly cut off by a yell.

"Bella!"

Two warm arms wrapped around me and I cried out in pain, the bruises on my torso making their presence once again the focal point of my thoughts. Immediately I was released and I plopped back down into my chair, my head knocking into the cushioned bench.

"Oh shoot, Bella, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" I nodded and winced. It had been unexpected. This was what I got when I refused to have Carlisle bandage me up just for my own safety. My own clumsiness had been enough reason for me to consider the simple solution to the unnecessary pain but I had stubbornly refused after reasoning that the likeliness of me being in such a situation again with all the vampires surrounding me was unlikely. Had I remembered that even humans could be strong, I wouldn't have been so taken off guard.

"I'm fine….Jacob?"

"Hey, Bella!" His long black hair tied back at the nape of his neck and his cargo shorts tattered and splattered with a greasy black substance, Jacob seemed to have grown quite a bit since the last time I'd seen him though my opinion may have been biased seeing as I was seated. Esme, however, looked wary when I turned back to see why she was still silent. Her nose had wrinkled slightly but she had a curious and protective look in her face. She was watching Jacob intently as if looking for a reason to be alarmed though I doubted she wanted one. It was the precaution set by the family though and she followed it.

"Hey Jacob, how've you been?" I felt awkward. What was I supposed to say to him? 'Hey, Jacob, how have your wolf-shaped shape-shifters been? Any plans on them visiting me soon?'

"Pretty good," he replied happily, a wide grin taking over his face. His boyish features were looking strangely more chiseled than before but his grin was the same one I had seen when we first met. "I was just out seeing if the junkyard here had some better car parts than the one in Forks. Been looking for a carburetor but I haven't had much luck. Oh, I'm sorry, my name's Jacob Black." He held his hand out suddenly to Esme whose eyes were now open and much less suspicious than they had been before. Jacob's face too had an open look about it but his nose seemed to have a wrinkle along the ridge as well. I inconspicuously sniffed the air but didn't smell a thing other than the scent of baked goods and pepper and garlic.

"I'm Esme Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you," Esme replied, her quiet and motherly tone seeming to surprise Jacob who instantly relaxed, his eyes widening from the onslaught. Esme just had that effect on people, I supposed.

"Pleasure's all mine—"

"Jacob!"

I turned to the door and internally groaned as I saw Billy Black rolling through the door, his eyes narrowed at me before they shifted over from Jacob's hand to Esme's arm (clearly attached to Jacob through the handshake they were both participating in). He sputtered momentarily, his wheelchair jerking a bit when he tried to speed up in his panic. He obviously knew what Esme was and was freaked out by it; I would have been too if I hadn't been surrounded by the big bad vamps all my life.

"Hey, Mr. Black," I greeted as calmly as possible. Obviously Jacob knew nothing about the supernatural beings that resided in Forks and even on his own turf. I vaguely remembered a time when I had been that naïve and safe. Living in the unknown was the best way to make it through unscathed. Jacob needed that chance.

"Oh, you must be Billy Black! I'm so pleased to meet you. I'm Esme Cullen," Esme said with a smile, her eyes wide and calm. I hadn't told the vampires about what Billy had said to me. They had no idea that he knew who I was. "I believe Mrs. Gerandy told me that you had once taught lessons on the Quileute tribal rituals…I'm afraid I wasn't living here at the time. How unfortunate; it would have been wonderful to have been a witness to such a beautiful culture."

Billy's eyes narrowed even further and he seemed to have growled beneath his breath. Jacob was looking between them as if wondering whether or not he should intervene before things got out of hand. Was Billy always so temperamental?

Esme was shorting sitting down, even with Billy sitting in his wheelchair, but when she held out her hand to shake his, he seemed to straighten to a point where he practically towered over her. His eyes burned.

"I don't shake Cold hands." Esme put in the effort to look confused.

"I was just drinking a glass of chilled water so my hand might be a bit cold…"

"You know what I mean, leech."

"Dad!" Jacob was glaring at his father, his mouth set into a frown. "What would Mom say if she heard you talking to a woman like that?" He turned to Esme. "I'm so sorry; he must be in a bad mood and since he can't _walk it off_—"

"Jacob, don't talk about me as if I'm not here! I'm your father; show some respect."

"As soon as you show some respect towards others—especially women—I'll do whatever the hell you want."

"Yeah, right. Respect my a—"

"Excuse me," I peeked in before Billy could finish, "but we're in a restaurant and the waitress is glaring at us for disturbing the peace. I think it would be best if we leave. Come on, Esme, I'm not really feeling hungry anymore." I turned to Jacob. "It was so great seeing you again, Jacob. Hopefully I'll see you around soon." I pulled him into a hug impulsively. He just seemed like a good kid, the kind that was so innocent and carefree that it caused you pain to put them through anything difficult. If we had been under different circumstances, I would have easily been good friends with him. If only…

"It was great seeing you too," he said into my hair. He was an inch or two taller than me. Strange, I had really thought he was shorter. "Do you mind if I call you later? Maybe we can hang out or something…" I looked to Esme; she was pretty much my caretaker. I didn't have freedoms and rights; I had privileges.

Her smile didn't look totally genuine but it wasn't fake either. She nodded and pulled out a card from her bag, writing down my number on it. The Cullen Card; Jacob looked slightly impressed.

"It would be a pleasure to have you over, Jacob. However, we must be going. It was wonderful meeting you."

We left, Billy's eyes glaring daggers into our backs as we left. When we reached Esme's car, she turned to me and sighed.

"You may not be hearing from Jacob anytime soon, Bella."

"Why not?"

"Billy just forbade him from ever seeing you again. I'm so sorry," she said remorsefully, her eyes looking glassy. I leaned back as the car revved up and sped away from the restaurant.

It didn't bother me much that I was surrounded by vampires and that my life to become one was a never-ceasing threat for the near future. It didn't bother me that the Volturi had given me a chance for a life despite the fact that it was only to last a year and was still being infiltrated by the vamps. What really got me was that no matter how much of a human life I wanted to live and no matter how much effort I put into it, the one thing I would always lack was a human friend. Right now it was this blasted treaty that had me in an ironclad hold. In a year's time, it would be ice-cold marble hands that would be holding me back from consuming the blood of those I wished to befriend.

Irony was horrid that way.

--

Monotony was ruling my meager life and it bored me to no end. There was food, shelter, entertainment, and all the extra stuff that people loved to have even when they didn't need it. My surroundings weren't the problem though. I just didn't seem to have the drive that was necessary to live contently, let alone happily. Jasper took notice as soon as I came home with Esme, carrying memories in a dusty cardboard box. It took Edward about two milliseconds to figure it out as well. After that, nearly everyone was doing their best to bring some life to the house where there was only one—barely—beating heart. They weren't lying when they said that this house held no secrets.

"How about we go hiking? I haven't had a chance to use those hiking boots I buy every year," Alice suggested.

"And risk getting hurt, leading to you getting frisky and sucking me dry? No way. If anyone's going to suck on this neck, it's going to be Edward." I didn't have to turn around to see Edward looking at me curiously with a look of confusion, shame and self-aimed disappointment on his face.

"Why Edward?" Alice questioned. I turned the page to my book, caressing the worn paper. After flipping through it and dropping it a few times, the pages were much more…used. It felt nice.

"Because Edward would be the only one to truly appreciate my blood and all it's worth. Once it's gone, it's gone. He'll never be able to taste it again. It kind of sucks, actually. No pun intended."

Edward sat beside Alice on my bedroom floor as Emmett, Esme and Jasper came into the room (without my permission). It was like my room was their Bat Cave where they plotted and planned and tortured their human. Absolutely no privacy for the less-than-immortal.

"Bella please, at least come out with us. We'd love to take you sight-seeing. Seattle is lovely this time of year. No tourists will be around until the spring," Esme coaxed gently, a kind smile on her face. My eyes narrowed.

"I've seen Seattle before. You know, before this whole fiasco started." At my mention of "the incident", as they preferred to call it, their faces fell in what looked to be a silent apology. I sighed.

I knew what they wanted. All those things I had held in for years, the emotions and the opinions and the general feelings that make up every human were what they anticipated, hoping that something they did would make me spill them in a waterfall of tears and cries. They wanted a miracle for a person who didn't believe in magic.

"You don't have to feel guilty," Jasper said quietly, his voice smooth and calm like a trickling creek. "We don't expect anything from you. We just want you happy. Our kind has treated you unfairly and we can do little to repent for that, but we'd like to try." It wasn't hard for me to make up my mind about what I wanted, then.

"I want…I want to be…human again. Is it possible to do that?" Esme's eyes were exuberantly bright, Edward, Alice and Jasper were smiling kindly and Emmett was smirking widely, a dangerously mischievous twinkle in his golden eyes.

"Hon, we'll make a human of you yet."

"Emmett, I don't think driving lessons are such a good idea."

Right you are, Edward. Right you are.


End file.
